Advanced Placement English
Literature and Composition
2015-16
Mrs. Schafstall
[email protected]
Course Description & Goals
Advanced Placement English is an advanced level course designed as a year’s study in literature representing various
genres, periods, cultures, and themes from around the world. Since this course is a college-level class with
college-level requirements, students will have an opportunity to earn college credit by taking the AP Examination.
The course is designed for students who are self-disciplined and self-motivated and who have demonstrated
accelerated competence in writing and literary analysis.
Class Texts
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*Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, Lawrence Perrine
Persuasion, Jane Austen
The Story of Lucy Gault, William Trevor
Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
King Lear, William Shakespeare
The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
A Doll House, Henrik Ibsen
A Room with a View, E.M. Forster
The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
The class textbook marked with an * above will be checked out to each student. Students will be held
financially responsible for turning in the correct book in good condition at the end of the school year.
Students will receive a separate handout regarding the paperback books to be used in this class.
Recommended Texts
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Dictionary/Thesaurus (for home use; available in classroom for in class use)
Writing/Grammar Guide, such as Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style
AP Practice book, such as 5 Steps to a 5 or Barron’s AP English Literature and Composition
Communication
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You can reach me via email at [email protected].
If you wish to speak with me outside of class, leave me a note or schedule an appointment.
Grading Scale
Essays
50%
Homework 10%
Tests
20%
AP Practice 20%
Your midterm exam will be worth 3 test grades and will fall under your test % listed above. There is no
final exam in this class.
Class Supplies
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Book(s) needed for class that day (as announced and/or indicated on the class calendar).
Class Notebook: should include everything you need for class (paper, class handouts, notes)
Blue/Black ink pens. You will lose a letter grade for assignments or class work written in an ink color other
than blue or black. Pencil is acceptable for most assignments (not in-class essays) and class notes.
Learning in My Classroom
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Classroom instruction will include some lecture material, but most of our learning will take place through
discussion of literature. Students should read the assigned literature with this in mind and bring a
willingness to ask questions and discuss points from the reading, as well as an open mind, to the classroom.
We will discuss guidelines for class discussions and strategies for taking notes.
Participation is a significant portion of your homework grade. You will receive a 20 point grade each week
based on your attentiveness/participation in class discussions and activities and on coming to class with all
required materials.
Writing is also a main focus in this class, and you will write frequently, sometimes for an entire period, such
as an in-class essay, and sometimes for just a few minutes. At times, you may be asked to revise each other’s
work in class or to share your writing with the class.
Chromebooks in My Classroom
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You may use chromebooks for taking notes in my class. Please be aware that your chromebook can be
distracting for both yourself and others. Consider, for example, if you are able to ignore other features, such
as email, during class. If it seems that you are not fully participating in class activities, or are distracting
others, I may ask you to put it away for either that class period or for a longer duration.
If you use the chromebook for note-taking during class discussions, you must still be able to participate
fully and should not, for example, ask the class to slow down to accommodate your typing speed, announce
that you don’t remember your password or that your chromebook isn’t working, ask how to spell certain
words, or be a distraction in any other way.
Because of the classroom set-up, I cannot monitor every student’s chromebook use at all times. However,
I may ask to see what you are doing if it appears that you are not on task, including working on homework
or other projects.
You will be required to use your chromebook for certain class activities.
For some class activities/assignments, you will not be permitted to use it.
If I require chromebook use in class, I will typically give you 2-3 minutes at the end of class to pack up.
Otherwise, you are responsible for packing it up quickly and safely when class ends.
Classroom Expectations
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Since this class often centers on class discussion, one of the most important rules in this classroom is
respect for others and their ideas.
Students who display inappropriate, distracting behavior during class may receive a either a warning or a
demerit. I may also ask you to sit outside of the class discussion that day.
Students will receive a class calendar at the beginning of each month and are responsible for keeping up
with its contents.
Students who do not complete homework, especially reading assignments, will find it difficult to participate
in class discussions, a significant part of your class grade.
I ask that you do not have study aids, such as Spark Notes, out on your desk during class. I have found that
this takes away from our discussion of the assigned literature.
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Please also be respectful of the classroom - take all personal materials with you and clean/straighten your
area when you leave; do not take anything from the room that does not belong to you; and do not come into
the room for personal reasons during other classes.
Students need to follow all guidelines in the Student Handbook in respect to behavior.
Class Work
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Assignments are typically due at the beginning of class. You will lose one letter grade for each day late,
including if you hand it in after class on the due date. Some assignments will not be accepted late.
Assignments should be legible and free from doodles and abbreviations.
Students will receive a “late pass,” which will allow them to hand in an essay or project up to three days late
without penalty once during the school year.
If you receive a late homework pass (for merit points earned, etc.), you must adhere to the guidelines listed
on the pass.
If a student does not hand in a project or essay within one week of the due date, she may choose to
complete the assignment to earn a grade of 50% (instead of a zero) before the end of the semester (the last
day of class before midterms/finals).
Assignments assigned prior to your absence are typically due the day of your return. For short-term
assignments assigned during your absence, you have 3 days to make up the work. This includes class notes;
you will be held responsible for all missed material and for scheduling make up times (for tests,
etc.)
If you miss a quiz, you need to make it up within two days of your return. This includes reading quizzes;
your make-up quiz may differ from the original. You have one week to make up tests; AP in-class essays
need to be made up within 3 days (Fri writing day = make-up by the following Wed).
Students are expected to take a test if they return from an absence on a test day and the test was announced
in advance of the absence. If you feel that you cannot take the test on the day of your return, you must
discuss this with either me or a principal before the class period. I will not exempt a student from a test at
the beginning of that class period except in the case of extended absences for illness. .
For unexcused absences, students will receive a zero for that day’s assignments and tests. If a long-term
assignment is due that day, you will receive a late grade.
Long-term assignments (essays, projects) must be handed in on the due date even if you are absent unless
you have made other arrangements with me or a principal. In some cases, the assignment may be sent in via
email or google docs sharing.
Regardless of whether an absence is excused or unexcused, all work must be made up to earn full credit for
the course.
Please remember that according to the Student Handbook, you must hand in assignments on the due date
(or the day before) when you take a personal day, for a single period absence, or for any other absence that
you plan ahead of time (trip, doctor’s appointment, boarder travel day, etc.). You may put it in my box
before class or send it in with another student. If you fail to do so, your assignment will be counted late or
not accepted. In addition, any daily homework assigned during your absence is due upon your return.
Tardies and Absences
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Students are expected to make every effort to be in their seats by the time the bell rings at the beginning of
class; the bell signals that you are late, not whether I am in the classroom. You will still receive a tardy if you
are late, and you should remain in the classroom even if I’m not there.
If I am late/absent to class, you must stay in the classroom for the duration of the class period unless
directed otherwise by the administration. If you fail to remain in the classroom, you will be counted absent.
Tardy students will not be given extra time on beginning of class quizzes, tests, or writing responses unless
the tardy is excused.
You should not disrupt the class when you arrive late whether your tardy is excused or not.
You will be counted absent if you fall asleep in class.
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Please limit your restroom use to when it is absolutely necessary. Restroom visits should be brief, and you
should not be disruptive when you exit or return. If you are out of the room for longer than 5 minutes, I will
count you either tardy or absent.
Please let me know if you are going to the restroom prior to the late bell. If you return to the classroom after
the bell rings, you should not bring any class materials back with you (except for your chromebook). Unless
otherwise directed by me, the only reason you may leave during class is to use the restroom; you will be
counted either tardy or absent if you return (or leave) with classroom or other supplies.
Remember that you may lose course credit for excessive absences. Please refer to the Student Handbook
for specifics.
Academic Integrity
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One of my goals is to create a secure classroom environment in which all students benefit from the personal
integrity and honest behavior of each member. To help ensure this environment, there are consequences
for academic dishonesty.
In my classroom, cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:
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Allowing others to copy test answers, verbally giving answers, or receiving answers.
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Using notes, books, or other papers during a test period (unless allowed).
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Using papers and/or other work completed by students in previous classes in an inappropriate
manner (such as copying).
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Copying homework answers.
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Using chromebooks for any of the activities listed in this section.
Plagiarism involves taking someone else’s work (a current or past student’s; a found paper on the internet)
and claiming it as your own. If evidence shows that you did not complete work you are claiming as your
own, all school policies and consequences apply.
You will be taught skills, including paraphrasing and proper citation, that will enable you to avoid plagiarism
in your work.
Suspected cheating or plagiarism will result in a teacher conference, parental notification, grade penalties,
and disciplinary action.
I have read and understand all of the information and policies listed on this syllabus:
Student Signature: ________________________________
Parent Signature: _________________________________
Fall Semester
Unit I: Summer Reading and Introduction to Course
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Persuasion - Jane Austen
The Story of Lucy Gault - William Trevor
“The Wild Swans at Coole” - William Butler Yeats (1110)
Test and Essay Assignment for each text
Introduction to AP Multiple Choice, In-Class Essays, and PR’s
Unit II: Style Analysis Study, Part 1
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Style Study: a detailed workshop in the analysis of stylistic elements, such as tone, diction, imagery, syntax,
etc.
Short reading passages and writing assignments
Tone Project
Unit III: The Study of Short Fiction, Part 1:
The Art of the Story
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Past AP Prose Prompts (Handouts)
Essay Assignment based on Sandra Cisneros’s “Eleven” (Handout)
Selections from How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Thomas C. Foster (Handouts)
“The Garden Party” - Katherine Mansfield (Handout)
“Miss Brill” - Katherine Mansfield (182)
“The Destructors”- Graham Greene (115)
“Everyday Use” - Alice Walker (173)
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” - Katherine Anne Porter (272)
“A Rose for Emily” - William Faulkner (281)
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (329)
Author study: “Araby, “Eveline,” & “The Dead” - James Joyce (h.o.)
“Everything That Rises Must Converge” (h.o.) and “Greenleaf” (520) - Flannery
O’Connor
Review literary terms through story discussions
Theme Statements
Unit Test
Essay Assignment
Unit IV: A Study of the Poem, Part 1:
What Is Poetry?
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What is Poetry?
“The Red Wheelbarrow” - William Carlos Williams (730)
“Ars Poetica” - Archibald MacLeish (734)
Reading the Poem
“Mirror” - Sylvia Plath (749)
Denotation/Connotation
“The Leap” - James Dickey (Handout)
Imagery
“My Papa’s Waltz” - Theodore Roethke (1089)
“Those Winter Sundays” - Robert Hayden (781)
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Figurative Language 1
“Toads” - Philip Larkin (800)
Figurative Language 2
“Digging” - Seamus Heaney (812)
Figurative Language 3
“Departmental” - Robert Frost (844)
“The Unknown Citizen” - W.H. Auden (843)
Allusion
“Ulysses” - Alfred, Lord Tennyson (818)
Meaning and Idea
“The Triple Fool” - John Donne (1043)
Tone
“Dover Beach” - Matthew Arnold (892)
“Church Going” - Philip Larkin (893)
Musical Devices
“That Night When Joy Began” - W.H. Auden (902)
Sound and Meaning
“Blackberry Eating” - Galway Kinnell (957)
Pattern
“Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” - Dylan Thomas (968)
Write a villanelle
Comparison
“Bright Star” - John Keats & “Choose Something Like a Star” - Robert Frost (h.o.)
Poetry Explication Essay
Begin Contemporary Poetry Project
Unit Test
Unit V: Style Analysis Study, Part 2
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Style Study: a detailed workshop in the analysis of stylistic elements, such as tone, diction, imagery, syntax,
etc. specifically focused on writing about poetry
Short reading passages and writing assignments
Unit VI: Tragedy and the Search for Self
“Who Is It Who Can Tell Me Who I Am?”
(King Lear, William Shakespeare)
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“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” - Wallace Stevens
Oedipus Rex - Sophocles
Test
Written Response - “Thirteen Ways of Looking at Oedipus”
King Lear - William Shakespeare
Student Seminar Topics
Test
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy
Test
Essay Assignment
Midterm Exam
Spring Semester
Unit I: A Hero(ine)’s Journey & Awakenings:
Resigning the “Arbitrary Power of Beauty”
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Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Student Seminar Topics
“A Work of Artifice” - Marge Piercy (1077)
“The Yellow Wallpaper” - Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Handout)
“They Shut Me Up in Prose” - Emily Dickinson
Test
Essay Assignment
A Doll House - Henrik Ibsen (1165)
“Trifles” - Susan Glaspell (1132)
“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” - Adrienne Rich (1081)
Test
Essay Assignment
Unit II: “Beauty Is Truth, Truth Beauty” (John Keats)
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A Room with a View - E.M. Forster
“There’s a Certain Slant of Light” - Emily Dickinson (1004)
“A Light Exists in Spring” - Emily Dickinson (1036)
“Ode on a Grecian Urn” - John Keats (1002)
Test
Essay Assignment
Unit III: Regrets & Reconciliations
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The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
Test
Essay Assignment
Unit IV: A Study of the Poem, Part 2
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Student Poetry Presentations (ongoing during second semester)
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” - T.S. Eliot (1010)
Unit V: The Study of Short Fiction, Part 2:
Alienation & Absurdity
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The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
“The Sandbox” - Edward Albee (1145)
Unit Test
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AP Review and Practice Test
AP English Exam
Graduation Speech Writing
Unit VI: A Time to Finish