AP Literature and Composition Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. O’Neill 2010-2011 The primary goal of the senior Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition class is to develop your abilities as an independent reader and writer by giving you a college-level course during your senior year. One of the central aims of the course is that you begin to think more like a writer. You will hone your analytical and critical thinking skills and work on finding your voice as a writer. When you successfully complete the examination in May and earn a passing score, you can qualify for up to one year's credit in English at the college or university at which you matriculate. While the exam is not the be-all, end-all, it is important, so we will also practice the skills you need to be successful on the exam. The skills you will be developing are not only important for the exam, but they also go beyond the exam: they are critical skills that will help you to be successful in a college classroom. Advanced Placement English is both demanding and intellectually stimulating. It requires your best effort consistently and puts emphasis upon your developing independence of thought and mature habits of critical thinking. Classroom discussion and active participation are vital and serve as a means of testing your ideas. Therefore, it is imperative that you come to class well-prepared and ready to work. Written assignments, both short and long-term, will be an important and frequent feature of the course. We will work with both canonical and contemporary fiction and poetry, concentrating on teaching you to encounter new works and respond in your own informed voice. It is my expectation that you will have work completed by the date it is due, and work that is not turned in on time will receive a late grade. However, I also understand the demands of a busy and involved life. If you have particular circumstances that warrant an extension on an assignment, you must speak to me in advance about your need for an alternative due date. (Emailing me at 11:00 p.m. the night before an assignment is due does not constitute “in advance”). I’ll do my best to work with you to ensure your success and to assist you with the time management skills that are so crucial in your senior year. Late Policy: · If work is not in at the beginning of class, the work is late. · Work is one day late whether it is received at the end of the day or the next day. · Late work will be docked one letter grade per physical day, including weekends. Over a weekend, you MAY email your assignment, but you must also come to class with it printed on the following Monday. · Printing and computer issues are not acceptable excuses for late work. · If you have an excused absence the day a written assignment is due, you must bring a printed copy the next day you are in school. If, however, you are chronically absent on days when major assignments are due, this will be considered unacceptable. · An emailed paper only constitutes proof you’ve completed the assignment. The printed copy is what will be graded. It is your responsibility to put a printed copy in my hand. If an email arrives with the attachment “missing” or “unreadable,” you will not get credit for the assignment’s being completed. · When you arrive without an assignment, you will need to complete a “missing assignment sheet”.
Homework:
Homework is an integral part of this class; homework is designed to help you develop your thinking and writing skills. I don’t like “busy work,” and you will not be given “busy work.” The assignments you are given out of class will be tied to skill development, and it is crucial that you complete your work thoroughly, thoughtfully, and on time. A written assignment, in addition to reading, will be given every class meeting.
Writing assignments will be varied, including annotation, close reading, analysis, personal response, critical essays, creative responses, etc.
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary development is a part of this course. Vocabulary will primarily be drawn from context. Prior words will appear on future quizzes.
Close Readings:
For each reading assignment, expect to complete close readings in which you select passages that demonstrate certain literary devices the writer is using to develop meaning, theme, tone, etc. For each “close reading assignment” you will be asked to pick three to five passages. Sometimes you will be given specific direction. Sometimes you will have greater latitude to identify devices yourself.
Syntax, diction, figurative language, imagery, detail, and description are the critical elements writers use to create a work of art, which is what, perhaps identifies a “work of literary merit.” These categories, of course, have more components and can be broken down into much more detail. Knowing how and why a writer uses these devices to create tone and meaning will help deepen your thinking and writing.
Timed Writings and Practice Exams:
You will complete numerous timed writings and practice multiple choice exams during the course of this year. The more effort you put into your timed writings, the more prepared you will feel when exam time comes.
Assessment and Grades:
All of your grades will fall into one of the seven categories of the study of English: Reading Process, Literary Analysis, Writing Process, Standard English Conventions, Research, Oral Communication, and Language Development, as well as Work Habits, and you will receive multiple grades on most assignments. For example, an analytical essay may receive four grades: one for literary analysis, another for writing process, a third for use of standard English conventions, and the last for work habits (timeliness and diligence of the work). Oftentimes I will use a rubric or scoring guide when grading your essays; I will always write comments, provide feedback, and make suggestions for improvement. Please be aware that in order to earn an A+ or an “Exceeds Expectations” on work, you must do just that – exceed expectations. Writing that earns an A or A+ is writing that has been carefully structured, well-written, repeatedly revised, and contains such startlingly insightful, fresh, and inspiring ideas that one cannot help but say, “I wish I wrote that.” Work that “Meets Expectations” is work that does what is asked, includes the required elements, and is quite free of errors. That work is considered “B work.” Of course, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and that is why I will record grades in all of the areas mentioned above. If your SECs are flawless, but your ideas are still developing, the “A” in the first case and “B” in the second will indicate that. Your attitude and effort will also, logically, figure into your average. The more invested and diligent you are, the more likely it is that your work will reflect that.
Attendance and In-class Work:
Your attendance in class is important. When you are absent, your thoughts, experiences, and ideas cannot be shared with the class. You also miss the benefit of hearing the ideas of others and the instructional material for the day. The experience of being in class cannot be substituted with simply “doing the work” from the class period; however, you are expected to see me for the work from the day you were absent and to make up what can be made up within the time frame outlined in the YHS Handbook on Excused Absences. If you are absent the day an assignment is due, I expect that you will email it to me that day. If you are absent on the day of a test, you should plan to take it the day you return. It is also expected that you arrive to class on time and that you are prepared with the materials you will need for that day – laptop charged, pen, notebook, texts. If you are late to class, you will be required to make up time in detention after school. Headphones and cell phones are not permitted in class. All assignments must have the correct four-line heading on the top left corner of the first page of the paper and a page number header on the top right corner of each successive page (Name 2): Name Mrs. Walsh AP Lit. and Comp: Assignment Name Date (1 September 2010) As your teacher, I hope that each of you will accept the challenge of A. P. and give it your best effort. Together, we will explore the wondrous world of literature. In addition to class time, I will be available to help you nearly any day after school, during mutual free periods, and at other times that we can work out. Get ready for a great senior year!
AP Literature and Composition Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. O’Neill 2010-2011 First Quarter: Summer Reading: The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea A Prayer for Owen Meany Choice Book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Short Story Intensive (Learning to write about literature through the study of numerous classic and contemporary short stories) College Essay Workshop Second Quarter: Beloved by Toni Morrison Drama:Tragedy to Farce Othello by William Shakespeare A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca Rumors by Neil Simon Third Quarter: Poetry Unit Research Paper: Live Poets Society Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Fourth Quarter: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens The Turn of the Screw by Henry James The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Cumulative Essay Project A.P. Exam Academic Disclaimer The following list presents the warning signs of one of the world's most intellectually damaging and insidious diseases, the feared SENIORITIS. Unlike some diseases, it is spread by casual contact (with schoolwork). It has been known to strike otherwise strong, capable students and to turn them rapidly into gelatin brains. Because this disease renders you unfit for A. P. English, I want you to read the list carefully to discover whether you should go to guidance for a "drop and add." 1) You imagine your senior year to be one major social event. 2) You plan to work hard until the college applications are turned in. 3) You spend more time thinking about next year than about this year. 4) You have a severe allergic reaction when you hear the following words: "homework, essay, study, and reading." 5) You begin to regard your high school as a disposable item.
Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. O’Neill
2010-2011
The primary goal of the senior Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition class is to develop your abilities as an independent reader and writer by giving you a college-level course during your senior year. One of the central aims of the course is that you begin to think more like a writer. You will hone your analytical and critical thinking skills and work on finding your voice as a writer. When you successfully complete the examination in May and earn a passing score, you can qualify for up to one year's credit in English at the college or university at which you matriculate. While the exam is not the be-all, end-all, it is important, so we will also practice the skills you need to be successful on the exam. The skills you will be developing are not only important for the exam, but they also go beyond the exam: they are critical skills that will help you to be successful in a college classroom.
Advanced Placement English is both demanding and intellectually stimulating. It requires your best effort consistently and puts emphasis upon your developing independence of thought and mature habits of critical thinking. Classroom discussion and active participation are vital and serve as a means of testing your ideas. Therefore, it is imperative that you come to class well-prepared and ready to work. Written assignments, both short and long-term, will be an important and frequent feature of the course. We will work with both canonical and contemporary fiction and poetry, concentrating on teaching you to encounter new works and respond in your own informed voice.
It is my expectation that you will have work completed by the date it is due, and work that is not turned in on time will receive a late grade. However, I also understand the demands of a busy and involved life. If you have particular circumstances that warrant an extension on an assignment, you must speak to me in advance about your need for an alternative due date. (Emailing me at 11:00 p.m. the night before an assignment is due does not constitute “in advance”). I’ll do my best to work with you to ensure your success and to assist you with the time management skills that are so crucial in your senior year.
Late Policy:
· If work is not in at the beginning of class, the work is late.
· Work is one day late whether it is received at the end of the day or the next day.
· Late work will be docked one letter grade per physical day, including weekends. Over a weekend, you MAY email your assignment, but you must also come to class with it printed on the following Monday.
· Printing and computer issues are not acceptable excuses for late work.
· If you have an excused absence the day a written assignment is due, you must bring a printed copy the next day you are in school. If, however, you are chronically absent on days when major assignments are due, this will be considered unacceptable.
· An emailed paper only constitutes proof you’ve completed the assignment. The printed copy is what will be graded. It is your responsibility to put a printed copy in my hand. If an email arrives with the attachment “missing” or “unreadable,” you will not get credit for the assignment’s being completed.
· When you arrive without an assignment, you will need to complete a “missing assignment sheet”.
Homework:
Homework is an integral part of this class; homework is designed to help you develop your thinking and writing skills. I don’t like “busy work,” and you will not be given “busy work.” The assignments you are given out of class will be tied to skill development, and it is crucial that you complete your work thoroughly, thoughtfully, and on time. A written assignment, in addition to reading, will be given every class meeting.
Writing assignments will be varied, including annotation, close reading, analysis, personal response, critical essays, creative responses, etc.
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary development is a part of this course. Vocabulary will primarily be drawn from context. Prior words will appear on future quizzes.
Close Readings:
For each reading assignment, expect to complete close readings in which you select passages that demonstrate certain literary devices the writer is using to develop meaning, theme, tone, etc. For each “close reading assignment” you will be asked to pick three to five passages. Sometimes you will be given specific direction. Sometimes you will have greater latitude to identify devices yourself.
Syntax, diction, figurative language, imagery, detail, and description are the critical elements writers use to create a work of art, which is what, perhaps identifies a “work of literary merit.” These categories, of course, have more components and can be broken down into much more detail. Knowing how and why a writer uses these devices to create tone and meaning will help deepen your thinking and writing.
Timed Writings and Practice Exams:
You will complete numerous timed writings and practice multiple choice exams during the course of this year. The more effort you put into your timed writings, the more prepared you will feel when exam time comes.
Assessment and Grades:
All of your grades will fall into one of the seven categories of the study of English: Reading Process, Literary Analysis, Writing Process, Standard English Conventions, Research, Oral Communication, and Language Development, as well as Work Habits, and you will receive multiple grades on most assignments. For example, an analytical essay may receive four grades: one for literary analysis, another for writing process, a third for use of standard English conventions, and the last for work habits (timeliness and diligence of the work).
Oftentimes I will use a rubric or scoring guide when grading your essays; I will always write comments, provide feedback, and make suggestions for improvement. Please be aware that in order to earn an A+ or an “Exceeds Expectations” on work, you must do just that – exceed expectations. Writing that earns an A or A+ is writing that has been carefully structured, well-written, repeatedly revised, and contains such startlingly insightful, fresh, and inspiring ideas that one cannot help but say, “I wish I wrote that.” Work that “Meets Expectations” is work that does what is asked, includes the required elements, and is quite free of errors. That work is considered “B work.” Of course, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and that is why I will record grades in all of the areas mentioned above. If your SECs are flawless, but your ideas are still developing, the “A” in the first case and “B” in the second will indicate that. Your attitude and effort will also, logically, figure into your average. The more invested and diligent you are, the more likely it is that your work will reflect that.
Attendance and In-class Work:
Your attendance in class is important. When you are absent, your thoughts, experiences, and ideas cannot be shared with the class. You also miss the benefit of hearing the ideas of others and the instructional material for the day. The experience of being in class cannot be substituted with simply “doing the work” from the class period; however, you are expected to see me for the work from the day you were absent and to make up what can be made up within the time frame outlined in the YHS Handbook on Excused Absences.
If you are absent the day an assignment is due, I expect that you will email it to me that day. If you are absent on the day of a test, you should plan to take it the day you return. It is also expected that you arrive to class on time and that you are prepared with the materials you will need for that day – laptop charged, pen, notebook, texts. If you are late to class, you will be required to make up time in detention after school. Headphones and cell phones are not permitted in class.
All assignments must have the correct four-line heading on the top left corner of the first page of the paper and a page number header on the top right corner of each successive page (Name 2):
Name
Mrs. Walsh
AP Lit. and Comp: Assignment Name
Date (1 September 2010)
As your teacher, I hope that each of you will accept the challenge of A. P. and give it your best effort. Together, we will explore the wondrous world of literature. In addition to class time, I will be available to help you nearly any day after school, during mutual free periods, and at other times that we can work out.
Get ready for a great senior year!
AP Literature and Composition
Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. O’Neill
2010-2011
First Quarter:
Summer Reading:
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Choice Book
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Short Story Intensive (Learning to write about literature through the study of numerous classic and contemporary short stories)
College Essay Workshop
Second Quarter:
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Drama: Tragedy to Farce
Othello by William Shakespeare
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca
Rumors by Neil Simon
Third Quarter:
Poetry Unit
Research Paper: Live Poets Society
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Fourth Quarter:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Cumulative Essay Project
A.P. Exam
Academic Disclaimer
The following list presents the warning signs of one of the world's most intellectually damaging and insidious diseases, the feared SENIORITIS. Unlike some diseases, it is spread by casual contact (with schoolwork). It has been known to strike otherwise strong, capable students and to turn them rapidly into gelatin brains. Because this disease renders you unfit for A. P. English, I want you to read the list carefully to discover whether you should go to guidance for a "drop and add."
1) You imagine your senior year to be one major social event.
2) You plan to work hard until the college applications are turned in.
3) You spend more time thinking about next year than about this year.
4) You have a severe allergic reaction when you hear the following words: "homework, essay, study, and reading."
5) You begin to regard your high school as a disposable item.