Norfolk Public Schools

Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition

"If a man [woman] has talent and cannot use it, he [she] has failed. If he [she] has a
talent and uses only half of it, he [she] has partly failed. If he [she] has a talent and
learns somehow to use the whole of it, he [she] has gloriously succeeded and won a
satisfaction and a triumph few men [women] ever know." Wolfe

Course Description/Goals:
The Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition course is “intended to provide
students with a learning experience equivalent to the introductory year of college literature
course work” (AP Central, “English Literature Course Requirements”). This course will
allow students to write in a variety of forms-- narrative, exploratory, expository, and
argumentative-- and on a variety of genres across cultures. The focus of the AP English
Literature course is to enable students to become critical readers of complex texts, to understand
writers’ manipulation of language and devices to convey meaning, and to write rich, complex
prose intended for mature readers. Successful students in AP English Literature and
Composition will move beyond such programmatic responses as the five-paragraph essay.
Although such formulaic approaches may provide minimal organization, they often encourage
unnecessary repetition and fail to engage the reader. Students are encouraged to place their
emphasis on and to organize their essays around the link between content, purpose, and audience.
Students will write timed and untimed critical essays on literature we have studied as well as on
literature new to the student. Using the Writing Notebook throughout the course, students will
have a dialogue with their peers and with the teacher about revision practices. In essence, the
goal of this course is to increase students’ ability to explain clearly, cogently, and even elegantly,
what they understand about literary works and why they interpret them as they do. Writing
instruction will include attention to developing and organizing assertions about literature with
clear, coherent written expression, organization, and use of details. Moreover, writing is a shared
experience as students work together to develop and refine an argument or present an analysis at
length. The purpose of this course is to help students “write effectively and confidently in their
college courses across the curriculum and in their professional and personal lives.” (The College
Board, AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008, p.6)

Global Essential Questions and Understandings:

 How does literature help us understand others and ourselves?
 How is writing a communication tool across the ages?
 How do writers manipulate language and techniques to convey meaning?
 How does literature reflect the human conditions?
 How does literature express universal themes?

Specific Essential Questions and Understandings:

Plot:
 How are the various elements of plot (e.g., introduction, suspense, climax, and
conclusion) handled?
 What is the relationship of plot to character delineation?
To what extent, and how, is accident employed as a complicating and/or resolving force?
 What are the elements of mystery and suspense?
 What other devices of plot complication and resolution are employed?
  Is the plot primary or secondary to some of the other essential elements of the story (Is
there a sub-plot and how is it related to the main plot? character, setting, style, etc.)?
 How can readers recognize irony or satire and for what purpose do writers use these plot
devices?
Style:
 What are the "intellectual qualities" of the writing (e.g., simplicity, clarity)?
 What are the "emotional qualities" of the writing (e.g., humor, wit, satire)?
 What are the "aesthetic qualities" of the writing (e.g., harmony, rhythm)?
 What stylistic devices do writers employ (e.g., symbolism, motifs, parody, allegory) and
what effects do these devices have on the literature?
 How do writers use figurative devices to convey meaning?
Setting:
 What is the setting? Does it play a significant role in the work?
 Is a sense of atmosphere evoked? How?
 What scenic effects are used and how important and effective are they?
 How does setting intertwine with other devices (e.g., character, plot, etc) to create theme
or meaning?
Historical Context:
 With what particular period does the book deal?
 How has the reception of the text changed over time, and what does that change indicate
about the text and its audiences?
 How does audience impact the interpretation of the text?
 What part does biographical writing play in the book?
 Is social history or political history emphasized?
 Are dates used extensively, and, if so, are they used intelligently?
 Is the book a revision? How does it compare with earlier editions?
 Are maps, illustrations, charts, etc. used, and how do readers evaluate these visuals?
(Dalhousie University Libraries)

Course Objectives/Skills:
Student Requirements and Expected Levels of Achievement
A student taking this course will be expected to:
 participate in all class discussions.
 complete all assignments and projects by the assigned due dates.
 define and apply key literary terms.
 analyze and interpret familiar and unfamiliar literature presented in class.
 respond orally and in writing to material presented in class and to independent and
assigned reading.
 complete quizzes and tests on readings, terms, and vocabulary.
 utilize library resources and technology to find and evaluate critical essays.
 attend class regularly.
 prepare for the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Examination.

The student at the proficient or advanced level will be able to:

 comprehend, explain, analyze, apply, and evaluate concepts and ideas presented in a
variety of media.
 participate in class discussion by raising questions, evaluating the comments of others,
expanding the ideas of others, and taking and defending a position.
 prepare and present formal speeches.
  research a variety of topics, using primary and secondary sources and verifying the
accuracy of information.
 use traditional and emerging technologies to enhance reading, writing, and speaking.
 complete practice AP questions taken from past exams.
 write in a variety of forms on various genres.
 demonstrate the following skills in writing as stated in the course requirements from
College Board (www.apcentral.collegeboard.com).
o A wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively
o A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and
coordination
o Logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence,
such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis
o A balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail
o An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and
maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and
sentence structure

Grading System:

Essays and Tests 60%:

 Most tests consist of multiple-choice questions based on rhetorical devices and their
function in given passages. These passages are from texts read and studied, or from new
material that students analyze for the first time.

 Most essays are written as in-class timed writings and graded using a general timed
writing rubric (see below). These essays will serve as drafts, and most will be revised
and resubmitted as final drafts after peer and/or teacher evaluation and feedback.

Essay Scoring Rubric

9-8 (100-95) These are well-organized and well-written essays. With apt and specific references
to the passage, they will analyze the prompt in depth and with appropriate support. While not
without flaws, these papers will demonstrate an understanding of the text and a consistent control
over the elements of effective composition. These writers read with perception and express their
ideas with clarity and skill.

7-6 (90-86) They are less incisive, developed, or aptly supported than papers in the highest
ranges. They deal accurately with the prompt, but they are less effective or thorough than the 8-9
essays. These essays demonstrate the writer's ability to express ideas clearly but with less
maturity and control than the 8-9 essays. Generally, essays scored a 7 present a more developed
analysis and a more consistent command of the elements of effective exposition than essays
scored a 6.

5 (82) Customarily, these essays are superficial. The writing is adequate to convey the writer's
thoughts, but these essays are typically ordinary, not as well conceived, organized or developed
as upper-level papers. Often, they reveal simplistic thinking and/or immature writing.

4-3 (75-70) These lower-half essays may reflect an incomplete understanding of the passage and
a failure to respond adequately to part or parts of the question. The discussion may be inaccurate
or unclear, and misguided or undeveloped; these essays may paraphrase rather than analyze. The
treatment is likely to be meager and unconvincing. Generally, the writing demonstrates weak
control of such elements as diction, organization, syntax, or grammar. These essays typically
contain recurrent stylistic flaws and lack persuasive evidence from the text. Any essay that does
not address the prompt can receive no higher than a 4.

1-2 (60-55) These essays compound the weaknesses of the papers in the 3-4 range. The writers
seriously misread the passage or fail to respond to the question. Frequently, they are unacceptably
brief. Often poorly written on several counts, these essays may contain many distracting errors in
grammar and mechanics. Although some attempt may have been made to answer the question, the
writer's views typically are presented with little clarity, organization, coherence, or supporting
evidence.

Quizzes 20%: Quizzes are used primarily to check for reading and basic understanding of a
text. Each unit will have at least one quiz on vocabulary or a general reading analysis. Quizzes
will also assess knowledge of literary techniques and information from independent readings and
class discussions.

Daily 20%: Daily assignments consist of a variety of tasks. Among these tasks are grammar
and vocabulary reviews, short timed writings, journal writing, close reading activities, and
Socratic seminar discussions. Participation is the key to success in this class.

Most lessons begin with an anticipatory task usually reflective of the previous night’s readings or
activities, followed by whole group discussion, journal reflection or timed writing and practice
multiple choice questions. Students are expected to keep a notebook with notes from lecture
topics to use for guidance on assessments.

Note on Plagiarism/cheating:
 Plagiarism is grounds for failure and includes using others’ words as one’s own, direct
quoting without documentation, and paraphrasing others' ideas without proper citation of
credit.
 Cliff’s Note, and other similar sources offer others’ limited interpretation of the texts.
Avoid these sources and use interpretations gleaned independently.
 "Working together" on assignments not assigned as group work will also result in a grade
of "0."
 Giving or receiving information about quizzes, tests, and essays also compromises the
integrity of student evaluation and is therefore not permitted.

Writing Process and the Writing Notebook:

Learning to write can only be accomplished through practice. Each student will keep a record of
his/her graded writings, errors, revisions, and research projects. This notebook will enable the
students to have dialogues with the teacher and with their peers about their own writing process
throughout the year. The notebook will be evaluated and graded at the end of each nine weeks
for a major grade.

Directions for all papers are clearly written and reviewed in class. At any point in the writing
process, questions can be directed to the instructor in an e-mail for prompt attention. Peer
critiquing follows first draft writing, so that students can consider revisions based on the feedback
comments in the Writing Notebook. Peers may look at organization and transitions, as well as
fluency of sentence structure, and effectiveness of the entire essay. The teacher will meet with
students at various times before, during, and after writing to provide feedback on the students’
strengths and weaknesses.

Class Discussion/Reading Strategies

 Read each day’s assignment once or twice. Your reading assignment should be fresh in
your mind when you come to class.
 Take reading notes as you read assignments by making comments or asking questions in
your notebook, on sticky notes in your text, or directly in the margins of copies of
assignments you are given.
 Always jot down questions about difficult or complex areas in a work for discussion.
 For longer works (novel, plays) use a charting technique with notes on each of the
following headings: plot details and structure, characters, literary devices/techniques,
point-of-view, setting, thematic ideas, and other special features of the text. These notes
will come in handy to review for tests and for the AP exam.
 Become involved in class discussion, questioning and responding to “what the writer
seems up to” as well as sharing your ideas regarding other students’ comments.
 Actively participate in discussions. Participation helps you comprehend and retain the
material.
 Take notes during discussion. Jot down important terms, concepts, passages, quotations,
themes, stylistic devices, etc. being discussed by the teacher and by your peers.

Resources/Texts:
Websites:
 AP Literature: Titles from Free Response Questions since 1973, posted and updated by
Norma Wilkerson, works are listed alphabetically with the years in which the work was
suggested on the open question. http://homepage.can.com/mseffi/AP/APtitles.html
 Frosts/Keats Poetry Comparison Question and rubric samples. Contains Keats/Frost
poetry questions, rubric and sample responses.
http://www.bedfordmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_a.htm
 Literary Locales-More than 1,000 picture links to places that figure in the lives and
writings of famous authors.
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/english/places.htm
 Satire-Brief Outline of types and devices of satire.
Home.flash.net/~ghoyer/comedy/satire
 Literature Circle Roles-Literature Circle PDF with printable roles
www.englishcompanion.com/pdfdocs/litcirclepacket
 Socratic Seminars-Contains explanation and rubric assessment
www.teacherlearn.org/socratic-seminars.htm
 Teaching Literature-Categories include poetry, Brit. Lit, multicultural, critical lenses and
lesson plans/syllabi
www.teachingliterature.org/teachingliterature/index.htm
 The vocabulary Review/Language Links-List of links to vocabulary, word play, and
puzzles
www.vocabula.com/VRlinks.asp
 Short Story Study Questions-Alphabetical by author, this site has questions on often
taught short stories
www.bsu.edu/classes/newbold1103/various.htm
 How to Explicate a Poem-Step by Step instructions on understanding a poem.
www.pp.urf.edu/~s101/explicat.html
 Sonnet Central-An archive of English sonnets, commentary, and relevant web links.
www.sonnets.org
Student and Teacher Texts:
In addition to copies of novels and plays the teacher selects from the syllabus, the following texts
will be available to students for various readings and assignments. The abbreviations in
parentheses after the text indicate how the text will be noted throughout the syllabus.

Annas, Pamela J. and Robert C. Rosen. Literature and Society, 3rd edition. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. (LS)
Arp, Thomas R. Perrine’s Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense, 8th edition.
Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2002. (P)
McMahan, Elizabeth et al. Literature and the Writing Process,7th edition. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005. (LWP)

Course Outline
Unit 1: Introduction
2 weeks
This unit will allow students to explore the expectations of the course and the exams. Students
will complete diagnostic tests including writing samples so that the teacher may gather data on
students’ strengths and weaknesses in critical reading and writing. Students will employ close
reading skills to analyze elements of authors’ style including use of diction, syntax, figurative
language, and other literary devices.
Writing and Reading:
 Two Diagnostic AP format essays, one on poetry and one on prose
 Diagnostic AP Multiple-Choice test
Assessments/Activities:
 Completing peer and teacher evaluation of diagnostic essay using AP Scoring Guidelines
 Using a reflection journal on writing (Writing Notebook activity)
 Conferencing with the teacher to set up Writing Notebook expectations
 Reviewing essential essay vocabulary: assertion, evidence, commentary
 Reviewing paragraph and essay structures including thesis statements/assertions,
introductions, topic sentences, general and specific details, transitions, and conclusions.
 Justifying test answers using the diagnostic test
 Using practice assignments on diction, syntax, and tone
 Taking quizzes on literary devices and terms

Unit 2: Genre Study

3 weeks
In this unit, students will develop an understanding of prose genre, including drama, poetry, and
fiction. Students will use their summer reading texts and their reading response journal to
practice close reading in order to develop an understanding of how genres of literature differ, how
writers of poetry and prose utilize literary techniques to convey a message, and how readers may
discover writers’ messages through close reading and analysis. Students will write timed and un-
timed essays on summer readings and new texts. Students will develop their use of general and
specific detail, their use of varied and complex syntax, their diction choices, and their
understanding of effective assertions/evidence/commentary related to passage based essays and
open response questions.

Writing:
 Two Passage-Based Timed Writings (modified released AP prompts)
 Revision of one of the timed writings after peer and teacher feedback
 Comparison essay on two selections
  One college essay/personal narrative submitted for review

Reading:
Novels: (1 or 2 selections)
The Awakening, Kate Chopin
The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut

Drama: (1 or 2 selections)
The Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare
Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw
Poetry:
“Barbie Doll,” Marge Piercy

Short Story:
“Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin

Assessment/Activities:
 Taking comprehensive reading quizzes and tests: Vocabulary from readings
 Creating quote analysis projects
 Completing major works analysis sheets
 Discussing and presenting in literature circles elements of authors’ styles
 Using Socratic Seminars for thematic discussions
 Completing daily informal writing: reading-response journals and quick writes on “five-
star quotations” that are aphoristic, profound, humorous, universal, or personally
relevant. Reacting and responding to, and/or explicating these quotations.
 Evaluating peers using 1-9 scale rubric
 Evaluating and scoring of sample AP essays
 Identifying and analyzing works for style and figurative devices using TWIST (tone,
word choice, imagery, style and theme), TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation,
attitude, subject, title, theme), ITS Literary( Impulse, Tension, Structure, Literary
Devices), and SIFT (symbol, images, figures of speech, tone)
 Questioning texts using a dialectical journal, marginal notes on significant passages,
syntax/diction analysis using syntax chart (p.51-53 The AP Vertical Teams Guide for
English), and personal reflections on texts.
 Identifying and analyzing characteristics of the genre, author’s biographical information
that may have influenced the work, historical context of the work, current and past
audience reception of the work, elements of each author’s style, link between theme and
other literary features, significance of opening and closing scene in book

Unit 3: Classical and Modern Tragedy

4 Weeks
This unit will develop students’ understanding of tragedy and their appreciation for the cultures
of the United States and the world. Students will read two complete plays and excerpts from other
works to support their understanding of tragedy and drama. Students’ writing assessments will
allow them to demonstrate a critical understanding of tragedy and its elements. Revision of
writings will continue to focus on essay organization of details as well as enhancement of written
expression through varied syntax.

Writing:
 Timed theme analysis essay (AP Open Response Question)
 Revision of theme analysis essay after feedback from peers and teacher
 Timed passage-based essay
Reading:
Excerpts from Aristotle’s Poetics http://www.public.iastate.edu/%7Ehoneyl/Rhetoric/index.html
“Tragedy and the Common Man,” Arthur Miller
Chapter 3 “Tragedy and Comedy” (P)
Part IV, Chapter14-15 “Writing About Drama” (LWP)

Drama: (Two selections)

Oedipus, Sophocles
King Lear, William Shakespeare
Antigone, Jean Anouilh
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller
Fences, August Wilson
Assessments/Activities:
 Taking tests: multiple choice and short answer based on the drama reading and multiple
choice on prose/drama passage (AP format)
 Participating in daily oral discussions and group presentations on quote/passage analysis
 Completing informal writing: reading response journals and quick writes based on
selections
 Analyzing dramatic conventions/structure, elements of tragedy, character development,
and the purpose/effect of irony, diction, and syntax in a drama
 Reviewing grammar: pronoun usage/antecedents and modifiers
 Conferencing with instructor after pre-writing on timed theme analysis essay
 Taking a multiple choice quiz on daily readings
 Examining close readings of style through tone and voice
 Revising timed theme analysis
 Completing a self evaluation of writings using evaluation guidelines (p. 179 of The AP
Vertical Teams Guide for English) and Sentence Beginning/Syntax Analysis chart
(p.51-53 The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English)
 Completing a peer evaluation of the theme essay using the scoring guide on p. 180 of
The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English
 Participating in post-writing conferences using Writing Notebook
Unit 4: Introduction to Poetry
4 Weeks
Students will study and analyze poems from the Renaissance to contemporary times from various
cultures. Students will develop an understanding of a variety of poetic structures (ballad, sonnet,
ode, etc.) and poetic devices (rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, figurative language, etc.) and analyze
poems for authors’ intent and/or the effect of their rhetorical choices on the poem and its
audience. This unit will prepare students to write critically and coherently about poetry and to
read more accurately, with deeper understanding, and with greater pleasure. Students will write a
comparison of two poems and an analysis of a single poem in a timed and un-timed setting.
Revision focus will be on maintaining voice, creating fluency through diction and syntax choices,
and harnessing powerful writing through mastery of language (overcoming student weaknesses as
noted in students’ Writing Notebook).

Writing:
 Poetry Writing Practice on Shakespeare’s “Winter” and Renaissance sonnets
 Timed Writing: Comparing two poems (2001 AP Exam Question 1, 2005 AP Exam
Question 1)
 Outside Writing: Poetry analysis on one poem in response to question of students’
choice from 1971-2004 list.
 Revision of one of the poetry essays after peer and teacher feedback and with suggestions
indicated in the Writing Notebook

Reading:
Poems from AP Poetry Prompts
Part III Ch. 11-13 “Writing About Poetry” (LWP)
10-15 poetry selections from the list of poets below (LWP and P)
sample poems of students’ choice

Sample Poets
A, B
Matthew Arnold
W.H. Auden
Jimmy Santiago Baca
Elizabeth Bishop
William Blake
Anne Bradstreet
Edward Kamau Brathwaite
Gwendolyn Brooks
Robert Browning
George Gordon, Lord Byron

C, D, E, F
Geoffrey Chaucer
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
E.E. Cummings
H.D. Hilda Doolittle
Emily Dickinson
John Donne
Rita Dove
Paul Laurence Dunbar
T.S. Eliot
Louise Erdrich
Robert Frost

H, J, L
Joy Harjo
Robert Hayden
Seamus Heaney
George Herbert
Garrett Hongo
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Langston Hughes
Ben Johnson
John Keats
Yusef Komunyakaa
Philip Larkin
Robert Lowell

M, P
Andrew Marvell
John Milton
Marianne Moore
Marge Piercy
Sylvia Plath
Edgar Allan Poe
Alexander Pope

R, S, T
Adrienne Rich
Carl Sandburg
William Shakespeare
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Leslie Marmon Silko
Cathy Song
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

U,V,W, Y
John Updike
Derek Walcott
Walt Whitman
Richard Wilbur
William Carlos Williams
William Wordsworth
William Butler Yeats

Activities/Assessments:
 Taking tests: multiple-choice questions on poetry from AP released tests
 Responding to a released AP prompt- comparison of two poems: “She Walks in Beauty
and “Sonnet 130”
 Identifying literary devices and analyzing their effectiveness in poetry
 Analyzing significance of historical context
 Responding to multiple-choice questions on poems
 Supplying annotations for works
  Using mnemonic devices such as TP-CASTT(title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude,
shifts, title, theme), DIDLS. IT’S Literary, or TWIST (tone, word choice or diction,
imagery and detail, style, theme)
 Examining quiz responses on vocabulary (prefixes, roots, suffixes)
 Examining quiz responses on grammar/usage (adjective/adverb, notorious confusables)
 Analyzing poetry: types of poetry, poetic devices, and terms
 Completing informal writings:quick writes and reading-response journals on poetry
readings
 Completing sentence variation and imitation exercises, and sentence combining activities
 Analyzing and scoring (with AP Scoring guidelines) sample essays on poetry
 Completing activities for achieving greater fluency and for mastering written expression
through voice and tone
 Evaluating peers’ poetry essays by focusing on voice, fluency, and sentence variety
 Participating in pre-writing teacher conference on outside poem choice and assertion
 Completing a teacher post-writing conference on one essay for revision
 Recognizing effects and purpose of diction, detail, imagery, syntax, and voice

Unit 5: Shakespearean and Contemporary Drama

5 Weeks

In this unit students will expand their understanding of Shakespearean and contemporary drama
and the changes in dramatic form and language over the ages. Through research and critical
reading, students will discover how the religious, scientific, and cultural beliefs of the
Elizabethan Age and the modern/contemporary time influenced playwrights of each era. Students
will gain a deeper understanding of dramatic conventions and devices such as irony, soliloquy,
staging, plot structure, use of minor characters, etc.

Writing:
 Timed writing from 1993 and 1994 question 3 of AP English Literature Exam
 Literary Analysis paper focusing on character
 Revision of one essay after peer and self evaluation of assertion, organization, detail
(evidence), written expression, and commentary on the “big so what”

Reading:
Ch. 16 “Writing about Character” (LWP)
Shakespeare’s Drama
Hamlet
Contemporary Drama (1-2 selections)
Waiting For Godot, Samuel Beckett
No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard
Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams

Activities/Assessments:
 Examining the complexities of Shakespearean Language
 Taking an AP style multiple-choice test on reading.
 Testing: using character maps to trace a character in the play and note what the character
says, what he/she does, and his/her motivation, and what others say about the character
 Completing informal writings: quick writes on analyzing character and/or dramatic
conventions and reading-response journals on quotes and passages from plays
  Completing daily reading quizzes
 Responding to an essay prompt: “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy—group outline and
essay building
 Using questions pre-recorded on note cards to aid responses during class discussion
 Responding orally to an informal prompt: compare and contrast ghost passage with
Claudius passage, both brothers discussing the murder of the king.
 Analyzing effective incorporation of quotations and citations (1082-1087 LWP)

Semester Two
Unit 6: Short Fiction and Satire
4 weeks

This unit will advance students’ understanding of short fiction through analysis of literary terms
and techniques, point of view, tone, etc. Students will gain experience with irony and satire and
develop their understanding of parody, reversal, inversion, hyperbole, understatement, sarcasm,
wit and invective.

Reading:
 Analysis of multiple short stories in LWP and P
 Part II, Chapters 4-8 “Writing about Short Fiction” (LWP)
 Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde
 “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift
 Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope
 Satirical Visuals: Cartoons and clips to illustrate modern satire

Writing:
 Timed writing on short fiction
 Informal writings in response to short selections on the following: structure,
imagery/symbolism, point-of-view, setting/atmosphere and theme
 Revised and expanded writing on one informal response after peer and teacher feedback

Activities and Assessments:

 Marking and annotating prose passages looking for shifts in structure/subject, tone,
diction connotation, characterization, thematic connections, etc.
 Completing Quiz on a focus skill: vocabulary from readings
 Using commas and quotations effectively
 Identifying literary devices and satirical devices in prose and determining effect and
purpose
 Completing close reading for diction, detail, imagery, syntax, and voice
 Researching historical background and notes on various selections to determine the
influence of the culture, history, and politics on the author’s choices
 Taking a practice multiple-choice AP test
 Taking a quiz on a specific reading: M/C quiz on “A Modest Proposal”
 Writing informally: quick writes and reading-response journals on selections
 Taking a quiz on elements of fiction: point of view; characterization; setting; theme;
plot; symbolism/allusions
 Evaluating student drafts by both peers and teacher to check for sufficient commentary,
proper use of syntax/diction, and punctuation (especially quotes)

Unit 7: Novel
6 weeks
Students will read two novels in this unit and continue their practice with prose analysis and close
reading. This unit will expand students’ awareness of narrative structure and the use of narrative
voice. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of application of stages/elements of a novel
including plot structure, character, motif and their connection to theme. Students will learn and
apply various literary theories to the novels they read. Writing instruction will focus on fine-
tuning prose in a timed and un-timed setting with an emphasis on the following: narrowed focus,
effective commentary and evidence, logical organization, and mature syntax/diction choices.
Writing:
 2 Timed writings on passages from novels
 2 Question-based timed writings from previous Open Response questions on AP exams
 2 revisions of selected writings of the student’s choice
 Final Evaluation of Writing Notebook and conference with teacher
Reading:
Two novels from the list below
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Native Son, Richard Wright
Black Boy, Richard Wright
Moby Dick, Herman Melville
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale-Hurston
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
Ceremony, Leslie Silko
Light in August, William Faulkner
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce

Activities/Assessments:
 Identifying and evaluating use of motif and symbols from the novel
 Using a quick write to explain the significance of the title of the novel
 Selecting key passages and identifying significance to character, plot, or theme
 Completing informal writings: reader response journals to explicate “five-star
quotations” that are aphoristic, profound, humorous, universal, or personally relevant
 Identifying literary devices and their effectiveness
 Writing annotations for readings
 Using mnemonic devices (TWIST, IT’S Literary)
 Completing a quiz on a specific focus: vocabulary from readings
 Recognizing and analyzing character types and functions: foil, archetype, static,
dynamic, etc.
 Completing a quiz on a specific literary element: character types and characterization
  Analyzing a work for style: diction, detail, imagery, syntax, and voice, point-of-view,
structure, etc.
 Writing prompts specific to a novel
 Completing an informal writing on paired responses to student-created prompts
 Testing: AP formatted test on the novels
Unit 8: The Exam Review
3 weeks

Activities/Assessments:
 Reviewing notes on major works and charting literature studied throughout the year
 Reviewing literary devices and strategies
 Taking a mock AP exam (3 hours)
 Reviewing assertion building for all three types of essay
 Employing test taking strategies for the AP test
 Reviewing types of multiple choice questions: the straightforward question, the
questions that refers to a specific line, and the “all or except” question
 Justifying and finding the distractor
 Reviewing strategies that aid in successfully answering various types of questions.
 Reviewing all open ended questions from 1980-2004 by analyzing which works fit best
with each question, and choosing two questions to write assertions and build evidence
 Analyzing poetry and prose passages not studied this year

Additional Teacher Resources:

 Course descriptions, practice tests, resources, sample syllabi, curriculum requirements at
www.apcentral.collegeboard.com
 The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English, 2ndedition. College Board, 2002.