AP English Literature and Composition Course Outline
This course focuses on written and oral communication with an emphasis on
literature and composition. Although not the exclusive goal, preparation
for the AP English and Composition Exam drives the course work.
Students will engage in careful reading and critical analysis of a variety of
representative genres and various periods concentrating on works of
recognized literary merit. Because the class is designed to read a wide
variety of works in depth, students are expected to follow class
deadlines carefully and fully and actively participate in each class.
Selection of this class presumes a level of basic reading and writing skills
acquired in past English classes. Writing is addressed in a variety of
forms, with the end result being analytical analyses of complex literature.
The assignments and activities are designed to promote class discussion
based on readings followed by in-depth analytical writing which are based
on these works and others not studied but of equal rigor.
Active Reading Activities include, but are not limited to:
Reading Journal Entries Including
Reader Responses
Predictions
Questions
Vocabulary (Noting unfamiliar words, definitions, and
derivations)
Informal Note-Taking on most Assignments (Should include
Notations of Pages or Tabbing for quick reference during class
discussion or writing activities)
Daily Discussion Activities include, but are not limited to:
Class and Small Group Discussions
Informal Presentations (Individual and Group)
Socratic Seminar
Writing Activities include, but are not limited to:
Response Writing (Guided and Short Free-Writes)
Formal Five-Paragraph Essay (Practice with AP style FreeResponse Questions as well as other prompts.)
Out-of-Class Essays, both Extended and Five-Paragraph
(Analytical, Argumentative, and Research-based)
Writing Revision, including Student-Teacher conferencing of
most assignments will be done on a regular basis. Teacher
conferencing will address all aspects of the writing process:
Pre-writing, Drafting, Revising, Editing, and Proofreading. Essay
drafts will be discussed at various stages of completion.
Analysis of student essays (both 5-paragrph in-class writings
and extended out-of-class assignments) will also be addressed
through Peer-editing. Students will form writing-groups to
workshop. Conferencing will address all aspects of the writing
process: Pre-writing, Drafting, Revising, Editing, and
Proofreading.
Focused instruction, grading and revision on:
Content (providing specific references to the work
Logical Organization
Controlling Tone/Voice
Sentence Structure
Word Choice
Diction
In addition, formal public speaking will be included in an individual
presentation of a persuasive/informative speech, which will be researchbased and require an annotated bibliography to be submitted with a paper
written to MLA specifications.
Students’ resumes will be updated and Mock Employment Interviews will be
conducted as part of the senior year Project Independence requirements.
Required Texts
Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry,
Drama, and Writing, Fifth Compact Edition – Interactive Edition. New York:
Pearson/Longman, 2009.
Orwell, George. 1984
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man
Morrison, Toni. Beloved
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare, William. Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare, William. Othello
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein
Trimester One:
Week 1: Using George Orwell’s 1984 [assigned as summer-reading, completed with
response-journal activities] analyze novel’s plot, characterization, and use of
language, symbolism and motif.
Essential Question: How are 20th century world events reflected in the
content and style of Modern novels?
Key Vocabulary: Plot (especially resolution), Characterization, Chronology,
Voice, Use of Language, Symbol/Motif
Assessment: Written response to the Essential Question using 1984 and
objective test on content and literary elements of the novel.
Procedure:

Brainstorm Historical Events that begin Modern/Post-Modern Periods

Introduce: Dystopia - Group Work: Identify at least three specific
characters or events from 1984 that fit this definition.

Discussion: Language/Paradox/Irony with specific examples, Voice of
Narrator, Characterization of Winston and Julia, and Plot, especially
Resolution

Reading and Analysis of selected essays from Bloom’s Notes: George Orwell’s
Nineteen Eighty-Four and the New York Times focusing on language, role of
women, and contemporary connections to the issues in the novel.

Group Dynamics and Assignment of Group Presentation Group Work on irony
and motif in 1984.

Individual Out-of Class Writing Assessment: Following Direct Instruction
using “Writing About Literature”(Kennedy, 1389-1409) and MLA review
(Kennedy, 2021-2135), write an extended out-of-class essay (using outside
sources and MLA documentation) addressing the question: How are 20th
century world events reflected in the content and style of George Orwell’s
1984?
o Teacher conference with first draft to check for credible sources
and specific references to both the novel and current events
o Peer-editing in writing- groups following revision of first draft
o Submit final draft with first draft (for comparison)
Week 2: Using Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein [assigned as summer-reading,
completed with response-journal activities] analyze: historical perspective,
authors’ style, plot, characterization, and motif through class discussion and
individual and small group work.
Essential Question: What are the characteristics of a novel written
during the Romantic Age that reflect social and cultural influences?
Key Vocabulary: Plot: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Denouement,
Setting, Theme (meaning of the work), and Writing about Literature
Assessment: Essay:
o Released AP open-ended question analyzing show how a
character’s relationship to the past contributes to the meaning
of the work as a whole and objective test on content of novel
and literary elements in the novel.
o Out-of-Class essay analyzing Shelley’s use of the Frame Story
and how the shifting perspective enhances the quality of the
writing.
Procedure:


Class and Small Group Discussion and Short Writes using novel including
topics of Character, Setting, Plot and Theme in Frankenstein.
Teacher-led Discussion of Romantic Period including historical and
philosophical perspectives.

Refer to discussion of “Writing about Literature”(1389-1409) and MLA
Review (Kennedy 2021-2135)[See Week 1]

Focused Direct Instruction: Thesis, Logical Organization of Essay, and
the AP evaluation scores of 9 through 1

Timed In-Class Writing Assessment Essay: In many works of literature, past
events can affect, positively or negatively the present actions, attitudes, or
values of a character. Using Frankenstein show how a character must
contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then
write an essay in which you show how the character’s relationship to the past
contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
o Class will work through the Pre-Writing stage of the first
timed essay together
o Draft (timed)
o Teacher-conference with first draft discussing
revisions/editing
o Submit second draft with first

Assignment of Out-of-Class Essay analyzing Shelley’s use of the Frame
Story and how the shifting perspective enhances the quality of the writing.
o Work in writing-groups to review pre-writing strategies
o Complete First draft out-of-class
o Teacher-review of first draft with suggestions for revision
o Revised final draft submitted with first draft (for comparison)
Week 3: To further reinforce the study of the Romantic elements in literature, a
brief unit of Romantic Poetry will be the focus of study. Text pages refer to
Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry,
Drama, and Writing.
Essential Question: What are the techniques used by Romantic authors of
poetry to convey theme and universal appeal?
Key Vocabulary: Sonnet: Italian, English (including Iambic Pentameter and
Rhyme), Lyric, Ode
Assessment: Released A/P Multiple Choice and free-response questions from
Romantic poems and an extended out-of-class essay analyzing the quality of
one of the first generation Romantic Poems studied in class.
Procedure:

Review definition of the Romantic Period – refer to Wuthering
Heights

Look at historical timeline [ teacher-created information -source:
British Literature, edited by Jeffrey D. Wilhem, PhD and Douglas
Fisher, PhD, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009]

Quickwrite: Read Harold Bloom’s Primary Source “The Romantic
Tradition” [A comment on Romanticism and the time- source
McDougal, Littell Literature, English Literature, 1985] Critical Reading
and Writing: Respond to the following:
Romantic writers responded to conditions by seeking various means of
escape. Some focused on the past, the primitive, the remote in time
and space; some imagined the future. In what ways are English
society during the Romantic period (as it is described by Bloom) and
American society today similar? Do contemporary writers seem to
have the same strong need for escape? Are they seeking escape in the
same ways? Present your opinions along with supporting reasons in a
well-developed paragraph.

Focused Direct Instruction: How to analyze and write about poetry
using TP-CASTT (source: AP Vertical Teams Guide to English) and
“Writing About a Poem” (Kennedy 1437-1461)

William Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (449)
Excerpt from Dorothy Wordsworth Journal (450)
o Discuss Romantic poetry elements, imagery, and
emotionalism.

Direct Instruction: Sonnet format (discuss English vs. Italian
formats)
o “The World is too much with Us” (641): scan and analyze
o Supplemented with essay: “If it’s a Square it’s a Sonnet”
from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C.
Foster, Harper Collins Publishers, 2003 )

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “Kubla Khan” (766) and his definition of
Poetry (703)
o Discussion: Meaning of the Poem, Imagery, Symbol,
Structure, Theme, and Sound Devices
o Extended Out-of-Class Writing: First Generation Romantic
Poets - Analyze the quality of either Wordsworth or Coleridge
as exampled by one of the poems examined in class. Show how
the individual components of the poem contribute to its overall
effect. Support your ideas with specific references to the
text.
o Teacher-conference with first draft
o Final Draft submitted with first draft

John Keats: “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (787)
o Biography
o Visual of Grecian Urn (Image from British Museum),
o Read Poem,
o Group Work using paraphrase, identifying poetic effects
including allusion and images, informal presentation.
o Quickwrite: Definition of Ode: an elaborate kind of lyric poem;
deals with a serious theme in language that is dignified as well
as enthusiastic and exulted What identifiable traits of an ode
are found in this poem?
o Discussion of Diction (Ambiguity), Theme (Spoken by the urn:
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty…”)
o In Class Essay: Romantics were concerned with the split
between aesthetic (poetry) and practical (science) discuss how
Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” shows this split.

Peer Writing-Group analysis of introduction/thesis of InClass Essay


First Draft

Teacher conference with first draft

Submit final draft with first draft (for comparison)
Assign reading/analysis Sonnet “Bright Star”(511) as independent
homework [To be used in AP free-response essay with Robert Frost’s
“Choose Something Like a Star”]

Direct Instruction: AP Questions using Appendix: "AP Exam
Preparation" (Kennedy AP1-AP6) for reference in preparation for AP
Style M/C Questions on “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
o Biography Percy and Mary Shelley
o Discussion of the poem: speaker, diction: connotation,
sonnet, irony, theme, and mood.

Preparation for first AP Poetry Essay: Assign review of Chapter 39:
“Writing About a Poem” (Kennedy 1437-1461) and information on
Robert Frost: 703, 611-12.

Direct Instruction: Sentence Structure, Diction, and Word Choice
using sentences/revisions from previously submitted student work and
teacher-created examples.

Assessment Essay: Released free-response question using Keats
“Bright Star” and Frost “Choose Something Like a Star” comparing
and contrasting the poems noting both theme and style.
o Class discussion of Pre-Writing Strategies and Paramedic
Method of quick Revision and Editing
o Timed First Draft
o Collect first draft for teacher-conference highlighting
weaknesses of areas already covered in focused instruction.
o Revise and resubmit with first draft (for comparison)
Weeks 5 to 10: Research Paper:
During the final weeks of the Short Story Unit students will finalize work on a
research paper in which students will: Identify a Social Purpose in one of the short
stories read in class. Place that story in its cultural context (discuss in terms of
the social and/or historical influences of its time) and relate it to another work of
literature produced by an AP recommended author of fiction not read in class.
Note comparisons and contrasts and use scholarly research to validate your
theories.
Assessment:
Paper: Content (how thoroughly prompt was addressed), Style, Mechanics and Use
of MLA conventions including competent use of outside sources)
Speech: Formal speaking components (Volume, Pacing, Eye Contact, Poise)
Week 5 or 6:
 Assign Research Paper using Direct Instruction with Chapter 50:
Critical Approaches to Literature (Kennedy 2177-2221).
 Students are required to conference with teacher on topics.
Week 7 or 8:
 Teacher scheduled after-class conferences to review progress of papers
Week 9:
 Teacher will be available for conferences on an as-needed basis
Week 10
Research Papers collected and findings presented to class in formal speech.
Weeks 4 through 10 - Short Story Unit: Stories will cover a broad range of
authors, styles and historical periods and will be analyzed for literary elements,
and historical and psychological perspectives. Where appropriate, teacher will
include information which addresses critical, psychological, historical, biographical,
mythological, sociological, and gender analysis. Students are assigned to read all
stories as out-of-class assignments and keep a journal using active reading
strategies (questioning, predicting, commentary and vocabulary). Work which is
outlined below follows the text to an extent, but is supplemented with discussions
intended to cover a broader and deeper coverage of some works.
Essential Questions: What are the techniques used by authors of short fiction to
convey theme and universal appeal? How does the construction of a plot, use of
character and setting, and the narrator’s voice or point of view combine to express
the theme of a short work of fiction?
Key Vocabulary: Universal Appeal, Fable, Significance, Parable, Plot, Tale,
Character, Word Choice: Colloquialism, Allegory/Symbolism, Flashback, Voice/Point
of View, Image, Theme, and Allusion
Assessments: In class timed writings, Short responses, Extended Out-of-Class
writings, and Peer-Writing Group and Teacher conferencing with submission of
both first and second drafts of essays.
Procedure:
 Reading a Story (Kennedy 3-22), using Updike’s “A&P”
o Analyze plot (especially exposition and resolution),
character, voice of narrator, and historical/social
perspective.
o Assessment Prompt: Ticket out the door: Quickwrite-
Compare Updike’s “A&P” and the Grimm’s “Godfather Death”.
What decisions do the decisions of Sammy and the doctor
reveal about a fundamental attitude toward risk?

Point of View (Kennedy 23-72), using Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”
o Activity including chronology of story, voice of narrator
(reliability and collective narration), setting as metaphor,
themes of “love,” “honor,” and “respectability,” historical and
psychological perspective
o Assessment of group presentation of one of the following topics:
Ways that Miss Emily could be a symbol of the post-Civil-War
South, Theme of female oppression and empowerment during the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century, or How Faulkner
presents the voice of the narrator.

Character (Kennedy 73-111) using Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny
Weatherall”
o At beginning of class: Quick Write: The emotional power of this
story lies largely in its presentation of the complexities of the
emotions of the main character. Defend this statement.

o Class Discussion Topics: Word Choice: Colloquialism, Flashback,
Image, and Allusion – direct students to Emily Dickinson poem
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” (Kennedy 710) discuss how
allusion to this imagery is used in the story.
Setting (Kennedy 113-120) using “The Storm”
o Small group discussion highlighting: Word Choice (sinister
words in first paragraph), Symbol, Author’s Purpose and how
Setting helps convey the Theme.
o In-Class Analytical Essay: Analyze “The Storm” and its
implicit moral overtones. Write either for or against its quality
based on the social mores of its time and of ours.
Peer-Writing Group discussion of Pre-Writing strategies and
First Draft
Submission of first draft with final draft for comparison

Assignment: Read Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” (Handout from PBS
Electronic Library)
o Assessment Prompt: Summarize Story “Desiree’s Baby” using a
Freytag Pyramid.
o Read "Irony" (Kennedy 163-4) and "Writing Effectively about
Irony"(Kennedy 177-79)
o Group Activity addressing: Setting, Conflict, Irony, Imagery
(especially simile), or foreshadowing and show how that literary
element addresses tone and mood and theme. Assessment:
Written response and informal presentation which leads to
discussion of findings with class.

Direct Instruction on how to write an essay about a short story using
“Writing About a Story” (Kennedy 142-1425)
o Summarizing Strategy: AP Style Free Response Question using
Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”: Read the story carefully noting
especially Mrs. Mallard’s attitudes as the story progresses. Then
write an essay in which you analyze how Chopin’s literary devices
help the reader to understand the irony at the end of the story.
Collect draft and after teacher-conference highlighting
weaknesses of areas already covered in focused instruction, revise
and resubmit.

Assign Out-of-Class Extended Essay: Analyze how Kate Chopin promotes
the rights of women during the early twentieth century through her
works of fiction.
o Peer Writing-Group with first draft and revision
o Submission of final draft with first draft and edited draft (for
comparison)

Tone and Style (Kennedy 153-188), using Hemingway’s “A Clean WellLighted Place”
o Discuss Syntax: Sentence length and complexity, Diction,
Repetition, and Parody.
o Quickwrite: Discuss the effective use of Hemingway’s syntax. Use
specific illustrations from the story.

Theme (Kennedy 180-182), “Writing about Theme” (Kennedy 204-204),
“Symbol” (Kennedy 206-208), and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”
(Kennedy 216-222)
o Discussion highlighting symbol, irony, tone, details, double
meaning, parody and horror.
o Out-Of Class Essay Response: Develop a theme for “The Lottery”
(Use checklist on page 205 (Kennedy) to get started). Then write
an essay which defends your choice of theme using details from
the story. First drafts will be edited during Peer-Writing-Group
editing sessions (guidelines will be given so students highlight areas
of focused instruction for revision), followed by revision and
submission to teacher of both first and final drafts for
comparison.

A Story in Depth (Critical Casebook) including Gilman’s “The Yellow
Wallpaper” (Kennedy 291-301)
o Read/Discuss article “Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’” by
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Kennedy 301-302).
o Discuss background information: Victorian/Progressive Era in US.
o Using audio from Tales by American Masters “The Yellow Wallpaper” listen to and follow text.
o Assign critical essays: Gilbert, Gubar “Imprisonment and Escape: The
Psychology of Confinement” and Ammon’s “Biographical Echoes in “The
Yellow Wallpaper” (307-308).
o General discussion of story and critical essays.
o Assessment: Groups work on question responses to Summary Activity:
“The Yellow Wallpaper”: Using specific information from “The Yellow
Wallpaper” write a response to the following:
How does the construction of a plot, use of character and setting,
and the narrator’s voice or point of view combine to express the
theme of a short work of fiction?
Groups will turn in a collaborated response and present their
findings informally to the class.
o Out-of-Class Extended Essay: Argue for or against Dr. Weir
Mitchell’s use of the rest cure using evidence from “The Yellow
Wallpaper.”
Teacher conference with first draft
Submit final draft with first draft for comparison

Independent Reading and Study: Flannery O’Connor - Critical Casebook
including “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (Kennedy 238-248), “Revelation”
(Kennedy 248-261 and Critical Approaches to Literature – Relate to “Critics
on Flannery O’Connor” (Kennedy 267-277). Students are assigned the
reading and analysis of these stories to be completed outside of class.
Group collaboration in the form of study-groups is encouraged.
o Direct instruction: Controlling Tone and Voice in essay writing.
Teacher created examples and comparison of samples from
previously submitted student work and other sources.
o Assessment – In-Class Extended Essay - Comparing Stories:
Compare and contrast the characters and themes in the stories
studied. Drafts will be edited during Peer-Writing-Group editing
sessions (guidelines will be given so students highlight controlling
tone/voice for revision), followed by revision and submission of
first draft and revised final draft to teacher.


Introduce Zora Neal Hurston: “Sweat” with discussion of dialect and
biography of the author (Kennedy 351-359)
o Group Work Contrasting Characters and Allusion
o Discussion of Characterization of Marriage and Minor
Characters.
o Assessment Prompt: Think-Pair –Share: Debate Delia’s action
(inaction) at end of story followed by class discussion
James Joyce “Araby” (Kennedy 359-363)
o Discussion of Joyce/his short story collection Dubliners.
o Discuss Setting, Character, Imagery, Symbol, and Theme.
o Assessment: Short objective quiz.

Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” (Kennedy 389-400)
o Discussion of O’Brien and his writing style (especially use of
catalogue and the historical and psychological influences on the
story as well as character and conflict.
o Assessment: Group presentations on: Conflict: Internal and External
and how it contributes to Character Motivation, Style: Including tone,
setting, diction, catalogues, Theme: What the story says about the
greater human experience, Irony, Repetition, Imagery: How it
contributes to an understanding of the characters and theme and
Author’s purpose

Leslie Marmon Silko “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” (Kennedy, 408)
o Discussion of Native American Pueblo culture [using teacher-accessed
internet sites] and Archetype [definition from A Handbook to
Literature, C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon]
o Discussion of plot, characters, and setting, the influence of
religion and culture and point of view.
o Assessment: Ticket out the door: From what Point of View is the story
told? Note the passages where the narrator enters a character’s
mind, and then explain what, in your opinion Silko gains (or loses) by
doing so.

In-Class Timed Essay: AP Released Short Fiction Response using “Eleven” by
Sandra Cisneros: Read the following short story carefully. Then write an
essay analyzing how the author uses literary techniques to characterize
Rachel. Teacher conference and revision/rewriting before re-submission.

Out-of-Class Extended Essay: Using one of the author’s studied in the short
story unit, analyze why his/her work is representative of an AP quality
author. Discuss specific literary elements and support your claim with
evidence from the text.
Peer-Writing Group with first draft
Submit final draft with first draft and edits for comparison
Weeks 11 through 14: Invisible Man and Poetry, Part 1
*Week 12 is the end of Trimester One. Since this course is a two-trimester course
it continues in Week 13. The Trimester break is usually very close to a week-long
break for Parent-Teacher Conferences and Thanksgiving Break. Therefore the last
two weeks of the Trimester One are used to introduce the novel Invisible Man and
begin the course of study. Students are assigned approximately one month read
the novel. Approximately 10 class days are spent in discussion of the novel at
intervals while students are reading and culminating in about 4 days of discussion
and testing at the end.
Other class days are spent working on poetry - with all reading and analysis being
done in class, so that homework time is spent reading and working with the novel.
Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
Essential Questions: How do humans make sense of their place in the world? How
can one person make a difference when all the avenues to power are occupied by
the duplicitous? How does the author create a frame for a coming-of-age story and
provide new knowledge of myth, metaphor and other literary experiences?
Key Vocabulary: Harlem Renaissance, Simile, Anaphora, Metaphor, Alliteration,
Stream of Conscious, Framework for a story, and Sound Device
Assessments: Reading Journal: Specified Active-Reading Responses and Vocabulary
(both unfamiliar with definitions and word derivations noted as well as interesting
use of words) Essays, Quickwrites, and Group responses throughout the readings,
creative writing using one of several incidents in the book as a starting point which
students then write additional narrative responses from another character’s
viewpoint, and final assessment with released AP multiple choice questions from
prose passages and AP released free-response essay.
Procedure:
Introduce novel with discussion of Style, Setting, and Themes:

Out-of-Class Reading Assignment to Introduce Harlem Renaissance and
using Jazz in poetry: “Critical Casebook on Langston Hughes (Kennedy 718734). Followed by class discussion.
o Echoes Harlem Renaissance – full of sound devices (especially
alliteration: repetition of initial identical consonant sounds or any
vowel sound in successive or closely related associated syllables,
especially stressed syllables) and utilizes anaphora
o Students are to note examples in their reading journal as the novel is
read

Focus: Alienation of African-American in ostensibly free society – not only
by whites but also by some blacks. Alienation becomes apparent through the
frenzied tone (driven by syntax).
o Students are to note examples in their reading journal as the novel is
read

Novel’s central question: How can one person make a difference when all of
the avenues to power are occupied by the duplicitous?
o Note on-going support in answer of this question in journal

Informal style with impressive vocabulary. Style is at times almost lyrical
with its considerable use of sound devices. The reader feels like he or she
is riding down a river, rather than sitting in a chair.
o Students are to note examples in their reading journal as the novel is
read

Similes and metaphors extend the effect of the sound devices and
emphasizing thematic points.
o Students are to note examples in their reading journal as the novel is
read

Setting: Rural Southern Town, Small Negro College during 1930’s and Harlem
during the 1930’s

View Ralph Ellison: An American Journey and Invisible Man and Its Impact
on the American Lexicon

Listen to: Louis Armstrong: “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue?”
Noting Ellison’s use of the song in the prologue

Discussion and activities of reading assignments to include elements of
Character, Setting, Plot (especially turning points, conflict and
resolution),Theme, Images, Allusion (historical, geographical, literary,
and artistic references), Irony, Sarcasm, Satire, Rhetorical Terms, and
Existentialism.

Assessments include, but are not limited to:
o Essay responding to the following AP released free-response question
adapted to an incident early in the novel: One definition of madness is
“mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.” But Emily
Dickinson wrote: “Much madness is divinest Sense –To a discerning
Eye –“Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a
“discerning Eye.” Using the scene at the Golden Day from Invisible
Man, show how the characters’ apparent madness or irrational
behavior plays an important role. Explain the delusion or eccentric
behavior surrounding our narrator and how it may be deemed
reasonable. Also show the significance to the theme of invisibility
established so far.
o Write a creative response which takes one of three scenes from the
narrator’s early experiences in NYC and expands the idea to a short
narrative using setting description, dialogue, and character
development to respond. (These responses require students to look at
the scene from the view point of a character other than the narrator
and respond through their “voice.”)
o Released AP and AP style multiple choice questions using prose
excerpts
o Timed Essay Response to released AP free-response question: Critic
Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the
answer.” Using Invisible Man, consider Barthes’s observation and write
an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and
the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how Ellison’s
treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as
a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. As needed – Teacher conference
and revision/rewriting before re-submission.
o Extended Out-of Class Essay: Using your journal for reference,
analyze Ellison’s use of sound devices in Invisible Man. Using specific
examples discuss how these elements contribute to the artistry of
the novel.
Teacher-conference will include discussion of journal entries and
documentation in the essay with first draft
Poetry – Part 1
Essential Questions: What are the techniques used by authors of poetry to convey
theme and universal appeal? How does the construction of a poem convey the
elements of poetry and spark an emotional connection to the reader?
Key Vocabulary: Sonnet: Italian, English (including Iambic Pentameter and
Rhyme)
Lyric, Ode, Paraphrase, Tone/Mood, Narrative Poetry, Dramatic Poetry, Dramatic
Monologue, Satiric Poetry/Sarcasm, Persona, Verbal Irony, Allusion,
Denotation/Connotation, Imagery: Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Haiku, Metaphor Simile
Assessment: Individual and group responses, AP released multiple choice and freeresponse essays.
Procedure:

Introduction to Poetry: Reading a Poem (Kennedy 423-437), including
Yeats’ “The Lake of Innisfree,” Lyric Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Frost’s “Out,
Out-,” Dramatic Poetry, and Browning’s “My Last Duchess”
o Quickwrite: Write and support an argument which encourages a
reluctant student to “give poetry a chance.” Be sure to cite specific
memories and experiences with poetry that you have had to date.

Listening to a Voice (Kennedy 438-455)
o Tone: Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” Whitman’s “To a Locomotive in
Winter,” Dickenson’s “I Like to see it lap the miles”
o The Person in the Poem and Irony, Auden’s “The Unknown Citizen,”
Old’s “Rites of Passage,” Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper”

Imagery (Kennedy 501-505
o Ezra Pound: “In a Station of the Metro” and Taniguchi Buson “The
piercing chill I feel” (501)

Begin in depth study of Elizabeth Bishop, beginning with Bishop’s “The
Fish,”(502-3), ”The Filling Station” (759-60), and in conjunction with her
“Sestina”(602) and “One Art”(696) and Dylan Thomas “Do Not Go Gentle into
that Good Night”(606) a study of the format poetry of Sestina and
Villanelle.
o Assessment Activity: AP released multiple choice questions on
“Sestina” and “The Imaginary Iceberg”
o Timed in class essay on “One Art” As needed – Teacher
conference and revision/rewriting before re-submission.
o
A creative exercise: Use one of the themes or ideas from your
study of Invisible Man to write a Sestina, Villanelle, or Sonnet.

Extended In-Class–Essay: Analyze one poem written by an author from the
AP canon which follows (primarily) a format studied (sonnet, sestina,
villanelle). Show how the use of the format contributes to its overall effect.
Peer-Writing-Group meeting with the first draft (Teacher will circulate to
add to discussions)
Submission of first draft with final draft (for comparison)
Trimester 2
Weeks 14-19 Drama Unit
Essential Questions: How is human life reflected in Drama? How is Drama read,
understood and written about? What are common elements found in Drama of
many ages? Othello: What are the Characteristics of Tragedy? How does
Shakespeare’s Othello fit the definition of tragedy? Midsummer Night’s Dream:
What are the characteristics of a Shakespearean Comedy? How do modern
technology and mass media of our age influence an experience with Shakespearean
drama in the 21st century? How have modern playwrights adapted their works to
reflect the life and times in which they live? How do modern plays reflect the
elements of drama from previous time periods?
Key Vocabulary: Drama, Protagonist, Exposition , Foreshadowing, Dramatic
Question, Double Plot (Subplot), Climax, Denouement, Suspense, Rising Action ,
Falling Action, Tragedy, Comedy, Tragic Comedy, Low Comedy, Epigram, Comedy of
Manners, Slapstick Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Realism, Unities, and Symbols
Assessments: Individual and group responses, AP released multiple choice and
free-response essays.
Procedure:
Introduction to Drama: This is an out-of-class assignment which students complete
over our December break – usually at least one full week. Class begins after the
break with a review of this material.

Reading a Play (Kennedy 835-855), including Glaspell’s Trifles.
o Discussion includes: Plot (especially Conflict), Character, Setting,
Role of Women in Historical Setting, Motivation, and Theme.

Modes: Comedy and Tragedy (Kennedy 856-878), including Marlowe’s A
Scene from Doctor Faustus and Ives’ Sure Thing.
o Discussion includes: Plot (including Turning Point and
Climax),Motivation, Theme, and Setting and its Impact on
Elements of the Play

Review of Aristotle’s Poetics using teacher-created handout based on the
original text.
o Students are assessed on active reading activity with a short-answer
quiz

Review of Sophocles influence on the development of the theater (Kennedy
879-883)
o Brief discussion of Oedipus Trilogy (Antigone is studied as part of
Grade 10 curriculum) to include definition of Tragedy, Hamartia,
Tragic Flaw, Hubris, Catharsis, Recognition, Reversal, Role of the
Chorus (Choragos), and Strophe and Antistrophe, Critical Essays
including Freud’s “The Destiny of Oedipus” and Fitzgerald’s
“Translating Sophocles into English”

Shakespeare [Tragedy] (Kennedy 934-1046) including Othello
Students will view the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Production of Othello,
distributed by Kultur, recorded live in May 2007 and read (including acting
out certain scenes) and respond to the play. Because the production is one
which is authentic to the script [literally word-for-word], students view the
play as closely to it would have been viewed by an Elizabethan audience (sans
males playing females).
o Discussions will include act-by-act analysis of Characters, Setting,
and Plot Elements during which students will be required to actively
read the text which has been viewed.
o
Critical essays on the play (Kennedy 1040-1044) are read and
discussed.
o Students read and discuss of “Writing about a Play” (Kennedy 14621470).
Assessment includes: Both individual and group responses to the text based
on the following:
o Plot and Character Questions
o Questions based on Shakespearean literary techniques of
Aside, Soliloquy, the use of Prose versus Iambic Pentameter,
and the use of Couplets
o Released AP Essay Response using Passage from Henry IV, Part
II. As needed: Teacher conference and revision/rewriting
before re-submission.
o Multiple Choice questions from Richard III.
The last two assessments require students to apply the specific
elements of Shakespearean literature analyzed in Othello to
unfamiliar passages.
o In-Class Essay: Using any of the Shakespeare plays you have
studied (this year or previously) discuss the elements of
Shakespearean Tragedy and why they are/are not an important
part of a twenty-first century study of drama. Include specific
references to the play you are using.
Peer-Writing Group work with first draft – focus on revision

Shakespeare [Comedy] Midsummer Night’s Dream
Students View Midsummer’s Night Dream, 1999 version directed by Michael
Hoffman while following the Folger Edition of the text.
o Discussions will include Act-by-Act analysis of the text comparing
and contrasting it with the film version and the discussion of plot,
characterization, style (especially use of couplets and the lyricism
of the text).
o Additionally the universality of the literature of Shakespeare will be
analyzed using the following prompt:
A film review by James Berardinelli of the Michael Hoffman
production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream, states that Michael
Hoffman presents “…a rendering that is sufficiently
contemporary and fresh…While every line of dialogue comes
from Shakespeare, the visual approach is very much Hoffman’s.”
Discuss the effect of combining Shakespeare’s dialogue with a
contemporary film version of this play.
For example: What
works, what does not? Did this experience aid your
understanding of the style of Shakespeare’s works? Why/Why
not?
o
Final Assessment includes AP released Multiple Choice questions using
Measure for Measure
o
Timed In Class Essay on the following prompt: Commenting on the
play, the critic Harold F. Brooks has written: “Both in form and
feeling, A Midsummer’s Night Dream is the most lyrical of all
Shakespeare’s plays.” Support or refute this statement using
elements from Othello to compare/contrast. Teacher conference
with first draft and submission of first draft with final draft.

The Modern Theater (Kennedy 1052-1055), including Realism and Naturalism,
Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People (Dover Edition), Review of Miller’s Death of
a Salesman (Kennedy 1211-1283), (included in American Literature study in
Grade 11) and August Wilson’s Fences (Kennedy 1333-1385).
Modern Theater Discussion includes: Realism and Naturalism, Stage craft to
include proscenium arch and set design, Symbolist Movement, Expressionism,
Theater-in-the Round and Arena Theater, and Flexible Theater.

Students will read and discuss An Enemy of the People (Dover Edition).
Most of this play will be assigned as out-of-class reading with students
keeping a reading journal with responses to specific questions and other
active-reading activities; however some reading aloud of certain scenes will
take place in class.
o Discussion will include an Act-by-Act analysis of the text and
the elements of play including plot, characterization and
theme.
o
Connections to modern issues and whistle-blowers will be
made as students explore the issue as it relates to twenty-first
century life.
o Assessments include individual and group responses to both
comprehension and literary questions
o Out of Class Assignment: Relate the situation found in An
Enemy of the People to your experience with modern issues
and whistle-blowers. Analyze the role that these individuals
play in helping/hurting a situation and make specific references
to the text. Teacher conference as needed and Peer-Writing
Group with the editing of the paper before submission. (Paper
may be submitted with hand-noted corrections.)

August Wilson’s Fences (Kennedy 1333-1385): Students will read and
discuss the play. Most of this play will be read as out-of-class assignments,
but some scenes will be read aloud in class.
o Play topic will be introduced with discussing the biography of August
Wilson and the 1950’s dream (with reference to Author Miller’s
Death of a Salesman and making historical comparisons to information
from the 1930’ s referenced in Ellison’s Invisible Man and
contemporary trends).
o Act-by Act analysis of the play will include discussion of plot
(especially conflict and resolution), the elements of tragedy,
characterization, the use of song in the play, and metaphor.
o Assessments will include individual responses to questions and group
topic explorations including Wilson’s use of characterization, race and
gender as it is portrayed in the play.
o Extended In-Class Essay: Compare and contrast Troy Maxson
(protagonist of Fences) with either Othello or Oedipus. Then based
on the qualities of a tragic hero, decide which better fits the
definition of a tragic hero as outlined in Aristotle’s Poetics and
explain why.
Submit Peer-Writing Group work with Pre-Writing Activities
Teacher Conference before final draft
Weeks 20 through 23
Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved will be read as an out-of-class reading assignment
with discussion days in class at intervals throughout the assigned readings.
Students will have three weeks to read the novel and discuss approximately 10
days in class. Other class days are spent working on poetry - with all reading and
analysis being done in class, so that homework time is spent reading the novel.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Essential Questions: What are the characteristics of a modern novel that reflect
social and cultural influences of its time and of the historical past that it
recounts? How does Toni Morrison use modern literary techniques to tell the story
of slavery and its effects in the novel Beloved?
Key Vocabulary: Non-linear text, Stream-of Consciousness, Variable Narrators, and
Character Development
Assessment: Individual and group responses to questions and prompts and AP
released Free-Response essay and Analytical Essay.
Procedure:

Introduction to novel:
o Discussion of modern literature elements including non-linear texts,
stream-of-consciousness, and variable narrators.
o Discussion of historical references including primary sources:
newspaper articles, photos from time period, and view film, Voices and
Visions: Toni Morrison in which she discusses the novel.
o Listen to and follow text of Billie Holliday’s “Strange Fruit” and listen
to NPR story “The Strange Man behind Strange Fruit,” September
2011 [This discussion helps students with one of the dominant early
images in the book: Sethe’s discussion of trees with “. . . boys hanging
in them”.]

Read Chapter 1 aloud in class. Discuss:
o “Sixty Million and more…,
o ”Biblical Scripture
o
Gravestones – From Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten:
An Archaeology of Early American Life. Anchor: New York,
1996.
o 124 – “3” missing: 1 and 2: Howard and Buglar, 4: Denver, 3:
Beloved, House at 124 Bluestone Road, Cincinnati, Ohio,
o Time: 1873 and implications of this time,
o Main Characters: Sethe: had 4 children, Howard (age 22) and
Buglar (age 23) – Ran away after living with “baby ghost” for 9
years, Beloved (From Headstone ...) Gone about 18 years; age 2
when she died (also known as “Crawling-Already Girl), Denver
(age 18, born in 1855) Baby Suggs – Sethe’s Mother-in-Law,
former slave, freed by her son Halle’s (Sethe’s Husband and
father of her 4 children) working to buy her from the owners
after she was old, lame and worth little to them. She had 8
children to 6 fathers, Halle is the only one she knew (4 taken
[sold], 4 chased [ran away]. She has been dead 8 years (almost
nine) when the story begins.
o How Setting (time and place) impacts plot: Sweet Home,
Kentucky: Plantation where Baby Suggs, Halle and Sethe were
enslaved by the Garners. After Mr. Garner’s death,
Schoolteacher becomes the overseer. Sethe is molested by
Schoolteacher’s nephews. She tells Mrs. Garner and is then
whipped by Schoolteacher for tattling. Sweet Home Men: Paul
D, Paul F, Paul A, Halle Suggs, and Sixo. Sethe is bought to
replace Baby Suggs after Halle frees her and buys her home in
Cincinnati. Sethe is 14 when she marries Halle – it is 4 years
later when Denver is born. 18 years have passed since Sethe
saw Paul D; Sethe is 36 when Paul D arrives at 124.

Discussion throughout the reading includes:
o Characterization, Plot Development and the difficulty of nonlinear construction (students will construct a timeline which is
revised as the novel progresses to make sense of this technique).
o Stream-of-consciousness (examples from text).

Summary topics used when novel is completed include:
o Sethe says “Nothing ever dies”…sets up Beloved’s return through
reincarnation. How do the plot events trigger memories?
o Motifs in Beloved especially Water, Colors, and Trees
o Examine combined layered language of allusion, imagery, and
symbolism.
o Who is Beloved? What are roles of the title character? How can she
serve multiple functions?
o Work with Themes: Slavery’s impact did not end with escape or
emancipation … ex-slaves faced hard-ships and struggled to
understand and accept the horrors of their pasts. The treatment of
slaves produced a “double consciousness in African-American
community” W.E.B. Dubois. – humanity or culture brought from Africa
was devalued and marginalized” therefore past and presents of
enslaved people must be reconciled. Finding meaning in the past
experiences in order to reconcile the past and present and find
psychological freedom allows one to move on.

Assessments include:
o
Mid-point in-class essay: Determine the role or roles of Beloved as
the title character in the novel. Consider the possibility that the
character may serve multiple functions. Write an essay in which you
defend your analysis based on the passages and events in the novel.
Peer-Writing-Group editing using AP Scoring guidelines
Teacher reflection on scoring
o
Group Work on Time Line: In order to balance the element of non-
linear time in the novel, students will rearrange major events into
chronological order and create a timeline. In addition they will write a
list of 3 to 5 details about each event.
o
Final Assessment: Objective test on content and literary elements of
novel and Timed In-Class Essay: AP released Free-Response Essay
analyzing the “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation” evident
in the ending of Beloved, and show how it contributes to the meaning
of the novel. This essay will be scored by teacher using AP 1-9.
Following this each student will have a teacher conference on AP
Score – providing discussion of progress-to-date.
o
Out-of-Class Essay: Analyze Morrison’s work Beloved and her
portrayal of the institution of slavery. How is this novel different
from a non-fiction work on the same subject? What affect does this
have on the reader?
Peer-Writing Group work with first draft
Submit revisions with final draft
Poetry - Part 2
Essential Questions: What are the techniques used by authors of poetry to convey
theme and universal appeal? How does the construction of a poem convey the
elements of poetry and spark an emotional connection to the reader?
Key Vocabulary: Sonnet: Italian, English (including Iambic Pentameter and Rhyme),
Lyric, Ode, Verse, Paraphrase, Tone/Mood, Narrative Poetry, Dramatic Poetry,
Dramatic Monologue, Satiric Poetry/Sarcasm, Persona, Verbal Irony, Allusion,
Denotation/Connotation, Imagery: Visual, Auditory, and Tactile, Haiku, Metaphor,
Simile, Overstatement/Understatement, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Epithet,
Paradox, Pun, Rhyme(Rime) Scheme, Terminal Refrain, Incremental Refrain,
Madrigals, Troubadours, Ballads, Alliteration , Rime: Exact,
Slant/Near/Off/Imperfect, End, Internal, Masculine, Feminine, and Eye,
Rhythm: Iambic, Trochaic and Spondaic
Assessment: Assessment: Individual and group responses to questions and prompts
and AP released Free-Response essay, Extended-Out-of-Class Argumentative
Essay
Procedure:

Song (Kennedy 540-557), including Ballads, Blues, Rap, and
Lennon/McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby”: Students will listen to a variety of
songs while analyzing and discussing the lyrics and use of poetic elements
such as refrain (terminal, incremental, and internal), ballads, literary
ballads, blues, and rap.
o Individual Assessment: Students research lyrics of one popular song
of their choice and present to the class their assessment of its sound
including meter, rhyme, and any other poetic elements.
o Essay: Analyze how the poetic elements of your chosen popular song
(see above) contribute to its overall effect as a poem.
Peer-Writing-Group to discuss at pre-writing stage

Sound (Kennedy 558-574), including Pope’s “True Ease in Writing comes from
Art,” Yeats’ “Who Goes with Fergus?” Discussions to include Alliteration
(initial, internal, and hidden), Assonance, Rime
(near/slant/off/imperfect, eye, end, internal, masculine, and feminine),
and Consonance.
o Group Assessment: Released poetry essay of Sylvia Plath’s “Sow” is
distributed. Group must locate the devises of sound evident in the
poem, marking a master copy to turn in. Consequent class discussion
will focus on the other elements addressed in the prompt (diction,
images and allusions) and how these would be combined to form
response.

Rhythm (Kennedy 575-591), including Stresses and Pauses, Brooks’ “We Real
Cool,”
o Group work with an assigned poem: Scan the poem and present to the
class how the poem uses rhythm to create certain key effects.
o Individual Essay: Analyze how overall effect the poem scanned above
is enhanced by the use of meter and other poetic elements evident in
it.

Open Forms (Kennedy 611-619) including discussion of Free Verse and
poetry of Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, and Wallace Stevens

Chapter 32: Critical Casebook, T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock” (Kennedy 1049-1073)
o General discussion of Eliot and Modern period historically and
influences on literature.
o Listen to audio of Anthony Hopkins reading poem [source: Poetry
Out Loud, CD from Poetry Out Loud, National Recitation Contest.
presented By National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry
Foundation].
o Group-work with “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”: Identify Imagery
and Allusions using reliable internet sources as needed. Decide on a
Theme for the poem. Turn in one copy of the poem with all imagery
and allusion identified (highlight or underline and then briefly explain
in margin) and your theme written at the end. [Teacher has given
duplicated copies of poems for use in this activity].
o Individual Assessment: Respond to the following question: Discuss how
T. S. Eliot’s poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” displays
evidence of the traditional poetry we studied, yet is obviously an
example of modern poetry.
Peer-Writing Group work with first draft
Submission of first draft with final draft

Poems for Further Reading to include: John Donne, Louise Erdrich, Seamus
Heaney, Gerald Manley Hopkins, Ted Kooser, Andrew Marvell, John Milton,
Adrienne Rich, Cathy Song, Wallace Stevens, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Dylan
Thomas. Derek Walcott and Walt Whitman. Reading and analysis both in
class and out of class of these poems as time allows. Additional poetry class
work includes:

Released AP Multiple Choice including, but not limited to:
o “Patty’s Charcoal Drive In”
o “Lady with a Falcon”

Released Essay Questions used for instruction and assessment including, but
not limited to:
o Marilyn Nelson Waniek:“The Century Quilt”
o E.K. Brathwaite: “Ogun”

Summative Activity for Poetry - Extended Out-of-Class Essay: Select a
poem by a contemporary poet not included in the AP Canon of suggested
poets (as distributed by teacher). Discuss the specific elements of the poem
that make it canonical (in other words, argue why it should be included in the
canon).
Week 24

Final Exam review

Final Exam: Released AP Literature and Composition Exam