COURSE TITLE: AP English
Language and Composition
ROOM: B.2.11
Welcome
to AP English Language and Composition, a challenging, multi-disciplined class
that serves to do one purpose: prepare collegiate efforts in the areas of
writing and language analysis. Critical
thinking and writing extends the concepts of learning and makes the world and
the situations contained therein a part of each individual. Students will be heavily involved in reading
and discussing literature of all genres and organizing ideas in correctly
written English. Writing will be a
daily and essential component of this class. Students create visual images in their writing through literary devices
such as figurative language and sensory detail. They arrange thoughts clearly and logically, formulate
hypotheses, articulate responses to complex spoken and media messages,
paraphrase and summarize to increase understanding. Students also interpret ambiguities, subtleties, contradictions,
ironies, and nuances in literature as well as analyze rhetorical modes of
discourse and rhetorical devices, style, syntax/grammar, logical fallacies,
etc.. They learn to explain how new
words enter languages and how meanings evolve over time, and use this
understanding of diversity in dialects to be more perceptive
communicators.
Summer
Reading (Required)
Hunger of Memory: The
Education of Richard Rodriguez by Richard Rodriguez
Required Purchase: Kaplan’s AP English Language and
Composition Guide—2006 edition
Course Readings provided by the school
(although owning your own personal copy can greatly enhance your ability for
making margin notes during your reading):
The Scarlet Letter by
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn by Mark Twain
The Awakening by Kate
Chopin
The Crucible by Arthur
Miller
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
A Raisin in the Song by
Lorraine Hansberry
TEXTBOOK:
The Riverside Reader eds.
Joseph Trimmer and Maxine Hairston
Interactive Reader-American
Literature ed. McDougal Littell
Language of
Literature-American Literature ed. McDougal Littell
Required
Materials:
Course
Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, you should know:
Requirements
for your grade:
HOMEWORK POLICY:
Agenda sheets will be provided every unit, usually
covering a month of material. Out of
necessity, most of the homework focuses on reading done outside of class at
home or during the reading portion of seminar.
The majority of nightly homework assignments, therefore, will focus on
the reading of the assigned novels and readings, the completion of accompanying
literary activities, study guides and vocabulary development, all of which will
prepare the students for class discussion or classroom writing in response to
prompts. Homework checks on written material will be conducted on a regular
basis at the beginning of the next class. All written homework will be
collected then and checked for a grade. When only reading has been assigned and
no written work, writing prompts or announced/unannounced quizzes serve as
checks on homework. As AP students, I
expect that you have developed habits that have helped you to get to this point
in your education. When an assignment
is given, I fully expect that it will be done.
If you have a conflict and are unable to complete the work within the
time allocated, I encourage you to discuss your situation with me. Important! There are no “D’s” on homework
(non-essay) assignments! You either do “C” work or above, or you will
receive an “F” on the assignment.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY:
No late work will be accepted unless you have an
excused absence. Assignments are due the day
that you return. If you miss a class,
you should first check your agenda sheet, but you still should check with me
before school, after school, or during designated seminar time for getting
help, to gather any missed materials or assignments, and/or making testing
arrangements for missed quizzes or tests.
If a quiz or test is posted already on the assignment sheet, the student
should prepare to take it as soon as possible. You should get class notes and information from your
classmates. If you have a one-day
absence, you should have made-up any tests or quizzes within 2 seminar periods.
If
you know in advance that you will be absent, check with me to obtain
assignments and work which will be given during your planned absence. If the absence is unplanned due to illness,
then you have as many class days as you missed to make up your work.
The only exception to the no late work policy is
that each semester, a student has one OOPS.
This is a one- day extension, no questions asked on a major
assignment. Essays should be printed
out before class to be turned in at the beginning, if they are not, you must
use your OOPS to turn in your paper.
Students will be awarded points for every
requirement of this class.
Quarter
1 and 3
Daily Homework/Class Participation and Presentations
(including your notebook grade) are weighted as 30% of the grade
Tests/Quizzes/Essays are weighted as 70% of your
grade
Quarters
2 and 4
Daily Homework/Class Participation and Presentations
(including your notebook grade) are weighted as 30% of the grade
Tests/Quizzes/Essays are weighted as 70% of your
grade
Semester 1 or Semester 2 Term Paper is weighted as
10% of your grade
Final
Exam is weighted as 10% of your grade.
You
cannot pass this course if you do not complete all essays that require a final
draft. This is a Language and
Composition course, where you demonstrate the understanding of language through
your compositions. You would not pass a college course if you did not turn in a
paper, so you cannot do it in this one.
Progress
reports, quarter reports, and final grades will be determined by the
traditional scale:
100%-90% A
89%-80% B
79%-70% C
69%-60% D
Below 60% F
First/Third Quarter
= 45%
Second/Fourth Quarter = 45%
Semester Exam =
10%
Students
who receive a grade below a C in the First Semester should evaluate whether
their enrollment in the AP class should continue. AP classes are MUCH more demanding than the regular
English classes. As a student, you must allocate the necessary time and
resources; much effort is required to perform well in this class.
AFNORTH International Middle/High School’s CSP
(Continuous School Progress) goal is, “All students will improve
their written communication skills across the curriculum.” The 6 + 1 trait is the
model selected to improve school-wide writing in all subject areas. The 6+1
Trait writing framework is a powerful way to learn and use a common language to
refer to characteristics of writing as well as establish a common vision of
what “strong” writing looks like. Teachers and students will use the 6+1 Trait
model to identify areas of strength and weakness as they continue to strive
towards continued writing improvement. Success of all students requires that
the 6 + 1 Trait become a consistent and integral component of each course
taught at AFNORTH International Middle/High School. Students, therefore, in AP
English Language and Composition, will become familiar with the six traits and
apply them to all formal essay assignments.
During quarter one, students will become acquainted with the vocabulary
and characteristics of the model as well as the writing rubric used by AP
examiners and practice evaluation and assessment of their own essays and peer
essays according to these traits.
Beginning with quarter two, on any formal writing assignment and on
examinations covering each major literature unit, student essay responses will
be developed according to the six traits and assessed by the instructor
according to the rubric. Students will
complete four formal assignments quarters two, three, and four, therefore,
using the 6 + 1 Trait Model.
CLASSROOM
EXPECTATIONS/CONSEQUENCES
Students are expected to follow all rules set forth
in the student handbook. I will be
prepared to give you my best and I expect that you will be, too. Class begins
and ends on time. I expect you to be in
your seat before the appointed time for class. Racing to beat the clock will result in a tardy if you are not in
your seat with materials and prepared to begin. Please demonstrate respectful
behavior and speech for others in class and on campus. Within the classroom especially, when one
speaker –student, guest, or teacher—has the floor, remain silently attentive
until the speaker has finished and then you may respond. Consequences for a poor choice will be
determined by the severity of the situation; however, there is zero tolerance
for any behavior which interferes with student learning. Insubordination,
disruptive behavior, and behavior that interferes with others’ safety will
result in an immediate trip to the office to see an administrator and a parent
phone call. Lesser infractions or
inappropriate behavior will result in an after-school detention. Serious
breaches of conduct not addressed above or repeated misbehavior will result in
a parent call, a parent/student/teacher conference, and/or an after-school
detention/class suspension. Common
sense, courteous behavior, including speaking one at a time and not engaging in
private conversation during group discussions, will make our classroom pleasant
for us all, provide an atmosphere conducive to learning from one another, and
minimize the number of rules we need.
Plagiarism on any assignment will not be
tolerated. Students will receive a zero
on the assignment and a parent phone call.
Just because you think you are “putting it in their own words,” does not
mean that you haven’t committed plagiarism.
If you do not cite the source, immediately the sentence and each time
you use it, you are committing plagiarism.
This means even if you are using an idea or analysis expressed without
using specific quotations. The internet
can provide you with a wealth of resources, but it can also lead you the zero
on the assignment. To protect your
grade, give credit any time you use someone else’s work, ideas, analysis. This does not mean that you shouldn’t use
outside resources, it means that you should not do any of the following, as
defined on the following website: http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~mspears/plagiarism.html
1. Copying and
pasting text from on-line media, such as encyclopedias is plagiarism.
2. Copying and
pasting text from any web site is plagiarism.
3. Transcribing
text from any printed material, such as books, magazines, encyclopedias or
newspapers, is plagiarism.
4. Simply modifying
text from any of the above sources is plagiarism.
5. For example,
replacing a few select words using a Thesaurus does not constitute original
work.
6. Using
photographs, video or audio without permission or acknowledgment is plagiarism.
7. You may use such
a photographic, video or audio source with or in a paper or multimedia
presentation that you create, as long as you do not profit from it or use it
for any purpose other than the original assignment. You must
include the source in your bibliography.
8. Using another
student's work and claiming it as your own, even with permission, is
academically unethical and is treated as plagiarism. This is known as
"collusion" and is bad. Very bad...
9. Acquiring work
from commercial sources is academically unethical and is treated as plagiarism.
10. Translation from one language to another is not
using your own words. Translations fall under the guidelines
for quotations, summaries and paraphrasing.
11. Using an essay
that you wrote for another class/another purpose without getting permission
from the teacher/professor of both the current class and the class for which
the original work was used is SELF-PLAGIARISM and is basis for a zero. I am
sure this seems ridiculous to some of you, but that is how it is. Sorry
about your luck! Do something original and put forth some effort why
don't you?!?! You may use your previous work as a basis for new research
of course, but include the original work in your bibliography
Textbooks
used:
Language
of Literature:
LOL
Riverside
Reader-RR
Interactive
Reader-IR
Kaplan-K
All other materials will be provided as handouts.
Focus:
Development of the key strategies used throughout the year to develop critical
reading and critical writing skills.
Summer
Reading:
Rodriguez’s Hunger of Memory
Writing Essays—Mastering the Components of the Body
Paragraph (Thesis/Topic Sentences, Commentary and Concrete Details, and
Concluding Ideas), Timed Essay and Reading Tests
Rhetorical
Strategies: What Good Readers and What Good Writers Do
SOAPS (Subject, Occasion,
Audience, Purpose, Speaker)
Style
Rhetorical Triangle (Tone, Form, and Message),
DIDLS (Diction, Imagery, Details,
Language, Syntax),Description and Narrative (elements of fiction: figurative
language), Definition through abstract ideas and concrete details, Persuasion
(Argument and Refutation), Concept (essential nature of an idea), analogy, allusions, audience.
Forms
of Writing: Narration
and Description; Process Analysis; Comparison and Contrast; Division and
Classification; Definition; Cause and Effect; Persuasion and Argument.
Connecting
Texts: Dillard’s “What an Essay Can Do” (writing
sample and M/C-5 steps-203)
Alvarez’s “Grounds for Fiction” (RR-120)
Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”
(K-275-278) [M/C]
Rodriguez’s “Growing Up in Los Angeles” [RR-343-349)
Major
Assignments: Quality Body Paragraphs
Autobiographical Essay: The Personal is Political,
Social and Philosophical
Synthesis Essay (Media and Politics)
UNIT TWO: Early American Puritanism
Focus: The way the Puritans saw their task and their
mission; the connection between mankind , nature and God; the relationship
between human nature and God.
Investigation of “American” values.
Short Readings: Bradford “Of Plymouth
Plantation”[IR-p.2]—Historical Reading Questions (handout)
Edwards-“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
God”[IR-p.13]
Bradstreet and Edwards [poetry handout]
Salem Court Document-“The Examination of Sarah Good”
(LOL-154)
Text: The Crucible by Arthur
Miller and Critical Essays-“The Great Fear” (The Crucible-199) and
“Guilt” (The Crucible-165)
Connecting
Texts: Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”
(K-198-201)
Donne’s “Meditation XVII” (B p. 130-131) [Essay
Prompt]
Epictetus-“The Enchiridion”
(handout)
Johnson’s “The Rambler”
(K-283-284) [Essay on Definition]
Major
Assignments:
Historical Document Paper
Part I
Literary Analysis Essay on The
Crucible
Final Draft Synthesis Essay
(Media and Politics)
UNIT
THREE: Foundations of American Democracy
Focus: Examination of the influences of American
Democracy, strategies of argumentation (pathos, logos and ethos), and the
continuing impact of the founding father’s ideas in U.S.
Short
Texts: De
Crevecoeuer—“What is an American” p.59 (IR-59),
Patrick Henry- “Speech in the Virginia Convention
(IR-48 and highlighted handout of rhetorical strategies)
Adams-“Letters to John Adams”-(from American
Literature-aspects of persuasion)
Jefferson-The Declaration of Independence (handout
from 50 Essays and M/C)
Cady Stanton-“Declaration of Sentiments and
Resolutions” (handout from 50 Essays and multiple choice)
Sojourner Truth-“Aren’t I a woman” (LOL-595) [M/C]
Connecting
Texts: King Jr.’s “Stride Toward
Freedom”
Malcolm X’s “Necessary to
Protect Ourselves” (LOL p.234)
Locke-“Of Civil Government” (handout from Introduction
to Great Books)
Aristotle-Politics (handout from Introduction to
Great Books)
Machiavelli’s “The Morals of the
Prince” (from 50 Essays)
Major Assignments: Comparison/Contrast of Readings and the authors’
discussion of the founding principles of the United States.
Synthesis Essay #2
UNIT
FOUR: Romanticism and Transcendentalism
Focus:
Examination of the ideas of Romanticism and Transcendentalism and application
of these ideas to Scarlet Letter
Short
Texts: Emerson-from
Self Reliance (IR-p.66) [K-237-238-M/C]
Emerson’s “History” (essay
prompt)
Thoreau’s “Where I Lived and
What I Lived For” (50 Essays)
Thoreau-from Civil
Disobedience (IR-p.76)
Thoreau’s “Walking” (K-286)
[Write your own Argument]
Irving-“The Devil and Tom
Walker” (LOL-276)
Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s
Experiment” (IR-132)
Earisman-“Thoreau, A Hippie in
History” (LOL-308)
Whitman’s Poetry (IR-96)
Tocqueville’s “Why Americans are Often So Restless”
(from Great Books)
Cummings’ “anyone lived in a
pretty how town” (LOL-323)
Morales’ “Ending Poem” (LOL-329)
Rodriguez’s “Tia Chucha”
(LOL-331)
Bacon’s “Of Truth”
(K-242-243 M/C)
Lao-Tse’s “The Tao and Its
Characteristics” (K-203-206)
Plato’s “The Apology”
(K-191-194) [Analysis of Argument]
Borges’ “Introduction to
Transcendentalism” (handout)
Major Text: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and
Critical Essays (close reading of “The Governor’s Hall” (5 steps-53)
Major
Assignments: Critical Analysis of The
Scarlet Letter
Final Draft Historical Document
Paper
UNIT
FIVE: Slavery and the Civil War
Focus:
Examination of the issues of the Civil War and the crisis of a new country
Short Texts: Douglas-“Narrative of the Life of” (LOL-446),
“Learning to Read and Write” (from 50 Essays), and “My Bondage and My Freedom”
(American Literature 1)
Slave Narratives
Lowell-“Stanzas on Freedom”
(LOL-459)
Harper-“Free Labor” (LOL-460)
Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural
Address (B-98-99) [Essay]
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
(from 50 Essays) [M/C]
Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl
Creek Bridge” (IR-172)
Ballou’s “Letter to Sarah
Ballou” (LOL-474)
Thoreau-“A Plea for Captain
John Brown” (K-231-233) [M/C]
Connecting
Texts: Moody’s “Coming of Age in
Mississippi” (LOL-491)
Hayden’s “Frederick Douglass”
(LOL-497)
Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read”
(from 50 Essays) [Synthesis essay]
Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham”
(LOL-500)
Major
Assignments: Persuasive Essay and
Speech
Comparison/Contrast of Douglas’ “What the Black Man
Wants” and Stanton’s “What the American Woman Wants” (American Literature
2)
Focus:
Model of an Author’s Study using Huckleberry Finn and a series of essays
to examine how he employs various rhetorical strategies throughout his works
and how these contribute to his purpose and his message.
Short
Texts: from
“The Autobiography of Mark Twain” (LOL-531)
“Life on the
Mississippi” (K-128-130)[Critical Reading Activity]
“A Cub Pilot’s Experience”
(IR-187)
“Two Sides of the River”
(RR-169)
“Concerning Tobacco” (K-187-188)
“Is Shakespeare Dead?”
(K-244-245) [Essay]
“Concerning the Deity”
(K-267-270) [M/C]
“At the Funeral” (5 steps-182)
[Essay Prompt]
“Diaries from Adam and Eve” (American
Literature 2)
Major
Text: Huckleberry
Finn by Twain and Critical Essays
Major
Assignments: Synthesis Paper on Twain
1 page proposal for your own
author study
Annotated Bibliographies on
Twain Critical Essays
UNIT
SEVEN: Vanishing
Frontiers: Migration and Immigration
Focus:
Examination of the shifts in American society and its impact on the literature
and essays written.
Chief Seattle’s “Our People
are Ebbing Away”[K-117-120-
Essay Prompt and 5 steps M/C-180]
Speckled Snakes’ “The Trial of Tears” (from American
Literature 2)
Native American Poetry: “Song of the Sky Loom”
(LOL-32); “Hunting Song” (LOL-33)
Native American Storytelling: “Coyote Stories”
(LOL-38-44)
Black Elk’s “High Horse’s
Courting” (LOL-521-527)
Stewart’s “Letters of a Woman
Homesteader” (LOL-551)
Turner-“The Frontier in American History” (B-92-95)
[M/C]
“The Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane” by
herself (K-158-161) [Essay]
Connecting Texts: Leslie Marmom Silko’s
“”Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective” (Handout from 50
Essays)
Yezierska’s “America and I”
(LOL-703)
Weisberger’s “A Nation of
Immigrants” (LOL-713)
Deloria’s “Custer Died for Your Sins” (handout from Emerging
Voices)
Silko’s “Gallup, New Mexico—Indian Capital of the
World (handout from Emerging Voices)
Momaday’s “The Way to Rainy
Mountain” (K-169-172 and M/C)
Momaday’s and Dee Brown
comparison essay prompt (handout)
Major
Texts:
First Author Study Novel
Major
Assignments: Author
Study Project
Part 2- Reader Response Journals on Novel and
Questions about Fiction Assignment
First Literary Essay on Author Study Novel
UNIT
EIGHT: American Modernism
Focus:
Examining the changes in fiction and essays in terms of the representation of
society.
Short
Texts: Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” (LOL-681)
Hemingway’s “The End of
Something” (LOL-829)
Parker’s “Here We Are” (LOL-836)
Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” (IR-157)
Selections of Robert Front’s
Poetry (LOL-821)
Eliot’s “The Love Song of J.
Alfred Prufrock” (IR-282)
Steinbeck’s “Why Soldiers Won’t
Talk” (LOL-924)
Major
Texts: Second
Author Study Novel
Major
Assignments: Questions about Fiction Assignment—Second
Novel/Short Stories by Author
Second Literary Essay on Author
Study
Part 3- Annotated Bibliographies
of Critical Essays on Author
UNIT
NINE: Emerging Voices- Women in American Literature
Focus:
Examination of Women’s Voices through the common themes used in representing
their lives.
Short
Texts: Selections
from Emily Dickinson poetry (IR-210)
Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
(IR-219)
Gilman’s “Politics and Warfare”
(5 steps-55) [M/C]
Ehrenreich and English’s”The Sexual Politics of
Sickness” (LOL-619)
Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” (LOL-623)
Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” (IR-297)
O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”
(LOL-404)
O’Connor’s “Revelation” (RR-297)
Welty’s “A Worn Path” (LOL-6)
Connecting
Texts: Olsen’s “I Stand Here Ironing” (LOL-642)
Walker’s “Everyday Use” (RR-370)
Dove’s “Adolescence-III”
(LOL-654)
Young’s “Keeping Women Weak”
(RR-418)
Roiphe’s “A Tale of Two
Divorces” (RR-182)
Mill’s “The Subjection of Women”
(K-271-274) [M/C]
Wollstonecraft’s “Dedication”
(K-239-241) [M/C]
Plath’s “Mirror” (LOL-883)
Sexton’s “Self in 1958”
(LOL-885)
Steinem’s “Sisterhood” (LOL-986)
Cofer’s “The Myth of the Latin Woman” (RR-44)
Cisneros’ “One Holy Night” (RR-434)
Major
Text: The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Major Assignments: Margaret Thatcher’s Gender
Politics (K-320) [Write your own Argument]
Annotated Bibliographies
Final Draft of Author
Study Paper
UNIT
TEN: Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement
Focus:
Comparative Development of a Critical Afro-American voices and a reflection on
the issues of racism.
Short
texts: Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s poetry (IR-241)
Dunbar’s “The Negroes of the Tenderloin,” “The Race
Question Discussed,” and “The Fourth of July and Race Outrages” (handout form The
Sport of the Gods)
Langston Hughes’ poetry (IR-247)
Hughes’ “Salvation” (from 50
Essays) [M/C]
Hurston’s “How It Feels to Be
Colored Me” (IR-254) [M/C]
James Weldon Johnson-“My City”
(LOL-773)
Cullen-“Any Human to Another”
(LOL-774)
McKay-“ If We Must Die”
(LOL-778)
Bontemps-“A Black Man Talks of
Reaping” (LOL-779)
Connecting
Texts: Walker’s
“Zora Neale Hurston” (LOL-787)
Walker’s “In Search of our
Mother’s Gardens” (from 50 Essays) [M/C]
Wright’s “The Man Who was Almost
a Man” (LOL-854)
Major
Assignment: Critical Poetry Reading
Short
Texts: Baldwin’s
“Stranger in the Village” (K-73-81) [Critical Reading]
Baldwin’s “Notes of a Native
Son” (handout from 50 Essays)
Baldwin’s “My Dungeon Shook”
(LOL-792)
Brooks’ poetry (LOL-800-802)
King’s “I have a dream” (RR-458)
King’s “Letter from Birmingham
Jail”(IR-312)
Giovanni’s “Revolutionary
Dreams”(LOL-981)
Staples’ “Black Men and Public
Space” (handout from 50 Essays)
Morrison’s “Thoughts on the
African-American Novel” (LOL-805)
Morrison’s “The Bird in Our
Hand” (RR-509)
Major
Text: Morrison’s
Song of Solomon
Hansberry’s A Raisin in the
Sun (movie and play)
Connecting
Texts: Soul of a Citizen (RR-498)
Confessions of a
Nonpolitical Man (RR-505)
Mebane’s “Shades of Black”
(257)
Literary Theory-Foundation
Essays
Major
Assignments: Literary Criticism Essay on Song of Solomon
Critique of Dramatic Performance
Focus:
Development on final thoughts about language and how it impacts our lives.
Short Texts: Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”
(K-55-63) [Critical Reading]
Final Inaugural Address of
F.D.R. (K-285)
Essay from Emerging Voices: Bosmajian,
Naylor, Horovitz, Heilbroner
Major
Assignment: Critical Small Group
Presentation of one of the Emerging Voices essays
Real World Project