Course Syllabus AP Literature and Composition Syllabus Course Description: This advanced literature course will engage students in careful reading and analysis of a challenging set of literary works from a range of genres including the novel, short story, poetry, and drama. The focus of the course will be on intensive reading and discussion of the literature, as well introduce secondary critical essays for discussion and evaluation. Emphasis will be placed on thoughtful and cogent analysis of the readings using a variety of theoretical frameworks and devices. The course is intended to provide students with an academic experience parallel to that of a college level literature course. This course will also include a writing component that focuses on expository, analytical and argumentative writing about the literature through both discussion and essay format. Students are expected to be active readers as they analyze and interpret textual detail, establish connections among their observations, and draw logical inferences leading toward an interpretive conclusion. This course also prepares students who do all the coursework for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Exam administered each May. Students will read, write and discuss poetry, fiction, and drama at an advanced college level while using online resources to develop skills including sophisticated use of literary elements and terminology, close readings of various texts, creating, drafting, and editing college-level analytical essays, preparing and writing timed essays, and advanced use and mastery of standard English. Learning Outcomes: At the completion of English Literature and Composition, the student will be able to: Make warranted and reasonable assertions about an author s arguments, Recognize and use literary terms, Apply literary terminology to fiction, drama, and poetry, Annotate a literary text, Analyze different genres of literature, particularly short stories, novels, drama, and poetry, Read literary texts closely, Read, understand, and answer timed analytical literary essays, Recognize and assess the elements of different literary genres, Read, draft, edit, and format analytic and research essays, Answer multiple-choice questions similar to those on the Literature and Composition exam, and Use computer technology and the Internet to complement an understanding of literature.
Throughout the course, students will be provided instruction and feedback on writing assignments, both before and after the revision of their work that helps them develop: A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination. Logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis. A balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail. An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure. Content Standards: This Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition course is written to the content standards outlined by the College Board s AP English Literature and Composition Course Requirements. Prerequisites: English 9, English 10 (World Literature), and English 11 (American Literature) Required Texts: Prerequisite reading: Title: The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Author(s): Kingsolver, Barbara Publisher: Harper Perennial Year published: Reprint edition October 1, 1999 ISBN 0060930535 Title: Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism (Norton Critical Editions), 3 rd edition Author(s): Conrad, Joseph (author) and Kimbrough, Robert (editor) Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Year published: October 1987 ISBN 0393955524 Primary Texts: Title: Literature (with Free ARIEL CD-ROM), 5 th Edition Author(s): DiYanni, Robert Publisher: McGraw-Hill Year published: April 6, 2004 ISBN 0072996242 Title: Poetry to My Ear: CD-ROM and User's Guide Author(s): Camp, Jocelyn and Nimchinsky, Howard Publisher: McGraw-Hill Year published: 1 st edition, March 20, 2000
ISBN 0072295430 Title: English Literature and Composition, 2 nd edition Author(s): Casson, Allan Publisher: Cliffs Notes Year published: December 29, 2000 ISBN 0764586866 Semester A Student Supplements: Title: The Awakening: An Authoritative Text Biographical and Historical Contexts Criticism Author(s): Chopin, Kate (author) and Culley, Margo (editor) Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Year published: January 1994 ISBN 0393960579 Title: The Great Gatsby Author(s): Fitzgerald, F. Scott Publisher: Scribner Year published: Reprint edition June 1, 1995 ISBN 0684801523 Course Methodology: This is an inquiry-based course where you will discover and utilize knowledge of the English literature and composition via the textbook, selected novels, poetry, drama and other readings, along with websites, and synchronous and asynchronous discussions with other students and the instructor. Acting as a facilitator, your instructor will guide you through the process however, as the learner you are responsible for actively acquiring and constructing knowledge by completing all assigned readings and activities. Both formal and informal assessment will be used in evaluating your performance throughout the course. Informal assessment will include an evaluation of the quality and timeliness of your participation in class activities. Formal assessment will involve multiple-choice quizzes, written essays, a midterm and a final exam. Semester One Unit Topics Activities 1 Introduction to Reading Literature Reading and Understanding Literature Elements of Fiction and Freytag s Pyramid Point of View A&P by John Updike Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin John Updike s A&P (and SOAPStone) Bobbi Ann Mason s Shiloh William Faulkner s A Rose for Emily Kate Chopin s A Story of an Hour Online Supplements: AP Literature and Composition Exam Overview Learning styles assessment Sammy s apron and symbolism The Story of an Hour and values (personal, societal and cultural) Shiloh essay Point of view Introduction to the Dialectical Journal Objective test Conrad s Heart of Darkness and literary terms Timed essay The Poisonwood Bible Timed essay A Rose for Emily 2 Art, Literature and Women s Voices Eleven by Sandra Cisneros Araby by James Joyce TPCASST Literature Evaluation Tool The Awakening by Kate Chopin James Joyce s Araby (and DIDLS: The Tone Acronym) Kate Chopin s The Awakening (through Chapter XIII) Kate Chopin s The Awakening (through the end of the novel)
The role of erroneous expectations in Araby Interpreting Edna s final awakening Literary terms made pretty Comparison of the growth of two characters Revision of Shiloh essay from Unit 1 Objective test literary terms 3 The American Dream and the Capacity for Imagination The Great Gatsby by Robert Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby: An Introduction The Great Gatsby: Gatsby s Platonic Conception and its Aftermath Gatsby s representation of the American dream Is Gatsby great? Fitzgerald s use of sensory imagery and syntax Freytag s Pyramid vs. TPCASST Revision of Comparison of the Growth of Two Characters essay from Unit 2 Objective test literary terms 4 Sound and Sense The Magic Elements of Poetry Reading Poems and Types of Poetry Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams Opening lines of Aeneid by Virgil Opening lines of Paradise Lost by Milton Barbara Allan by Anonymous Edward, Edward by Anonymous When I have fears that I may cease to be by John Keats La Belle Dame sans Merci by John Keats Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats The Sun Rising by John Donne Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost First Death in Nova Scotia by Elizabeth Bishop Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas Hummingbird by J. D. McClatchy Cosmic Simplicities by Tom Molito Sestina by Elizabeth Bishop Poetry: An Introduction Poetry: Narratives, Ballads, Odes and Epigrams Online Supplements Poetry Tutorial Poetry Mosaic Aunt Jennifer s Tigers the influence of personal ideas/standards The Red Wheelbarrow effect of breaks between lines 3 and 4 TPCASST analysis of two poems Why the title Sestina? Objective test literary terms 5 Form and
Function: The Magic Elements of Poetry Part I Elements of Poetry Writing About Poetry Student Papers on Poetry War is Kind by Stephen Crane My Last Duchess by Robert Browning In the Orchard by Muriel Stuart [Thou art indeed just, Lord] by Gerard Manley Hopkins Western Wind by Anonymous Naming of Parts by Henry Reed Family Portrait by Jacques Prévert [I wandered lonely as a cloud] by William Wordsworth Miniver Cheevy by Edwin Arlington Robinson It is a beauteous evening by William Wordsworth Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick Rape by Adrienne Rich First Death in Nova Scotia by Elizabeth Bishop The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats Meeting at Night by Robert Browning Heat by H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden Symptoms of Love by Robert Graves Mirror by Sylvia Plath That time of year thou may'st in me behold by Shakespeare Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost One Art by Elizabeth Bishop We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks First fight, Then fiddle by Gwendolyn Brooks Delights in Order and Disorder (and (P)DIDLS) Where In is Free Images in Yeats and Writing About Poetry Literary Terms Rhetorical Schemes and Tropes Lyrics Essay posting/discussion of Lyrics essay assignment Devising and alternate ending to a poem Song lyrics essay
Use of imagery in Browning s Meeting at Night Objective test literary terms 6 Form and Function: The Magic Elements of Poetry Part II Figures of Speech Symbolism and Allegory Syntax That time of year thou may'st in me behold by Shakespeare Hymn to God the Father by John Donne The Double Play by Robert Wallace The Battle by Louis Simpson Woman to Child by Judith Wright Advice to My Son by Peter Meinke Up-Hill by Christina Rossetti A Poison Tree by William Blake The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Virtue by George Herbert Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson The Sun Rising by John Donne The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy An Irish Airman Foresees His Death by William Butler Yeats The Silken Tent by Robert Frost "Me up at does" by E. E. Cummings Monster, Among the Dustbins by Stevie Smith Online Supplements: Emily Dickinson s Biography Because I could not stop death Video I heard a fly buzz I taste a liquor never brewed Audio My life closed twice before its close - Audio Poetry: Symbolism, Figures of Speech, Allegory and Syntax Sample Essay Discussion and Explication de Texte Literary Terms Schemes of Syntax/Rhetoric
Is Dickinson s I taste a liquor never brewed an excellent poem? Is Thomas Hardy s The Man He Killed an excellent poem? Evaluating figurative expressions in Woman to Child by Judith Wright Explication de Texte of Death of a Toad by Richard Wilbur Revision of Lyrics essay from Unit 5 Objective test literary terms 7 Art and Poetry Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by William Carlos Williams Hunters in the Snow: Breughel by Joseph Langland The Prodigal by Elizabeth Bishop The Sick Rose by William Blake Girl Powdering Her Neck by Cathy Song Sound and Sense in Poetry Ekphrastic Poetry Literary Terms Whom does the soul choose? Ekphrastic poetry Ekphrastic poetry Emily Dickinson Ekphrastic poetry John Keats Revision of Explication de Texte of Death of a Toad from Unit 6
Objective test literary terms 8 Blindness and Dramatic Irony Elements of Drama Reading Sophocles in Context Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Online Supplements: Analysis: Greek Tragedy and Oedipus Rex Critical Essay: Oedipus: An Overview Quiz Practice Oedipus Rex Video Role of Theater in Ancient Greece - Video Oedipus: One Blind King Oedipus: A Closer Look at the Theban King Relating personal values to Oedipus Rex Is Oedipus Rex an excellent play? Oedipus Rex Is the chorus fallible, too? Irony in Oedipus Rex Objective test Oedipus Rex Semester One Activity Points Unit Essays and Assignments (2 per unit) 15 points each Dialectical Journal Entries 10 points each unit Essay Revisions Units 2, 3, 6 & 7 10 points each Threaded Discussion Forums 20 points each unit Objective Tests Unit 1 30 points Unit 2 15 points Unit 3 10 points Unit 4 10 points Unit 5 35 points
Timed Essays (2 per unit) Unit 6 15 points Unit 7 15 points Unit 8 30 points 15 points each Points Possible: 920 Letter Grade Percentage Earned A 90% - 100% B 80% - 89% C 70% - 79% D 60% - 69% F 59% and lower Student s Role and Responsibilities in this Course Expectations: Students are expected to conduct themselves in a responsible manner that reflects sound ethics, honor, and good citizenship. It is the student s responsibility to maintain academic honesty and integrity and to manifest their commitment to the goals of NUVHS through their conduct and behavior. Students are expected to abide by all NUVHS policies and regulations. Any form of academic dishonesty, or inappropriate conduct by students or applicants may result in penalties ranging from warning to dismissal, as deemed appropriate by NUVHS. Communication: Throughout this course students will need to be in close contact with their instructor and fellow students. Students are expected to communicate via email and electronic discussion boards. Therefore, students should plan on checking email at least three times a week and participate in the discussion boards during the weeks they are live. Instructors strongly encourage and welcome open communication. Clear, consistent, and proactive communication will ensure a successful experience in this course. It is the student s responsibility to notify the instructor immediately if and when a personal situation occurs that affects your performance in this class. Being proactive with communication will result in a quick solution to any problems that may occur. Technical Support is offered through Spectrum Pacific Learning Company (SPLC). Should a student need any technical assistance, he/she should email the Help Desk as soon as possible at helpdesk@myonlinelogin.com or call 1-877-252-7715. SPLC will help resolve technical problems and walk through the solution with students. If a problem persists for more than 48 hours, the student must also notify their teacher and NUVHS. Time Required For This Course: To complete this course in eight weeks, students should plan to allocate at least 12-15 hours a week on assigned readings, assignments, discussions (asynchronous and synchronous), quizzes, and exams.
NUVHS wishes every student great success in their online class. Please contact us at 1.866.366.8847 if any questions arise. NUVHS Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) NUVHS Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs): It is anticipated that NUVHS students will be: Engaged Learners 1. Demonstrate self-directed learning skills such as time management, and personal responsibility through the completion of course requirements 2. Develop an understanding of their own preferred learning styles to enhance their overall academic potential 3. Incorporate effective and relevant internet and multimedia resources in their learning process to broaden their knowledge base Critical Thinkers 1. Effectively analyze and articulate sound opinions on a variety of complex concepts 2. Illustrate a variety of problem-solving strategies that strengthen college preparation and workforce readiness 3. Formulate a framework for applying a variety of technology and internet-based research to enhance information literacy and collaborative thinking Effective Communicators 1. Demonstrate awareness and sensitivity to tone and voice in multiple forms of communication 2. Express concepts and ideas in a variety of forms 3. Enhance communiccation skills through the use of media rich or other technology resources Global Citizens 1. Appreciate the value of diversity 2. Understand the range of local and international issues facing today's global community 3. Demonstrate awareness of the importance of cultural sensitivity and social responsibility in the 21st century