AP English Literature and Composition is an intensive study of British, American, and other works from a variety of genres, from the 16th century to contemporary times, including narrative fiction in novels, narrative fiction in short stories, poetry, drama, essays, and creative non-fiction, designed to prepare students for the rigorous requirements of college reading and writing. In this course, depth is emphasized over volume of reading, and students will exercise close-reading skills and detailed, analytical thinking and writing skills. All students are encouraged to take the AP Literature and Composition test on Wednesday, May 6, 2015. The fee is $91 but in some cases can be reduced. For more information, please see: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/calendar/190165.html. 

Many schools offer credit based on your AP Lit. test score. For more information: https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies

Using released AP materials and prompts, students will engage in in-class, timed writing and extended, at-home writing of interpretations of literature that are based on careful observation of textual details, considering the work's:
	◦	Structure, style, and themes 
	◦	Reflected social and historical values 
	◦	Use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone

Students will also practice analysis skills by writing expository, analytical essays in which they draw upon textual details to develop and extended interpretation of a literary text.

Students will read and understand a variety of works of drama, poetry, novels, short stories, and essays, including but not limited to works by:

W. H. Auden
Shakespeare
Margaret Atwood
John Donne
William Butler Yeats
T.S. Eliot
George Orwell
Joseph Heller
Tim O'Brien 
Tom Stoppard
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Sherman Alexie
Virginia Woolf
Franz Kafka
Jean Paul Sartre
Albert Camus
Harold Pinter
Edward Albee

Summer Reading: 1984 and Brave New World

Students must arrive in class having completed the summer reading and an essay analyzing the themes of both texts and how they can be applied in the modern world.

Ongoing class work:

•	Students engage in weekly application of their knowledge of literary devices using short excerpts from texts of literary merit (from in class or outside reading) though identification of literary devices (figurative language, syntactical structures, etc.) and a careful explanation of the context of the citation, what the device is and how it functions. Students will expand their academic fluency with literary terms and their use.
•	Students engage in weekly timed writing on a variety of texts in which they engage in close reading and clearly and methodically analyze the text for one or more of the following:
           -use of figurative language for a purpose
           -comparing and synthesizing information from two or more texts
           -themes
•	Students will independently read and analyze dramas, novels, and poetry of literary merit, including at least three independent reading assignments.
•	Students will have frequent opportunities to engage in peer and self-editing and revision, and be required to assess their own work according to AP requirements, assessing for logical organization and strong transitions, along with assessing content and analysis. Students will practice including rhetorical structures such as anaphora, repetition, and others in their writing, to enhance their positions. Students will practice writing in a formal voice, writing in a style appropriate to the expected audience. The teacher provides ongoing formal and informal feedback on writing and critical thinking skills, modeling an inquisitive approach to literature.

Unit 1: Literary Analysis Review: The basics

Student will review poetry analysis skills including analysis of structure, styles and themes. Students will utilize a variety of strategies (TPCAST and others) to unravel the meaning of complex poems. In an in-class essay, students will identify the extended metaphor and poetic devices present in “A Work of Artifice” and analyze the author's intent through these techniques. 

 Project: Literary Periods research and presentation: students will research the attributes of one literary period. They will understand the hallmarks of that period through identifying and reading/viewing two pieces of literature and/or visual art which fit with the criteria of that period. Students will be able to identify trends in thought and understanding through learning about the progression of literary trends.

Texts:
“A Work of Artifice”  Marge Piercy
“Hurt”     Trent Reznor
    
Unit 2: “ Hamlet” 

EQ: How do we find meaning of a text in context? Does a text have meaning different that the meaning that the author intended?

Students approach the text through a variety of perspectives. We will view different interpretations of the play. Students will compare and contrast the behavior and characteristics of the speaker in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” with Hamlet's behavior.

Students will keep an ongoing journal with specific citations from the play and their interpretation of the meaning of those citations in context.

Critical Lenses: Students learn Feminist, Psychological, and Archetypal critical approaches to literature and apply them in an extensive expository research and analysis paper.

Additional texts:
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”  T.S. Eliot
“Thou Blind Man's Mark”  Philip Sydney
“Oedipus Rex”   Sophocles

Unit 3: Ekphrastic art and literature: 

EQ: How do we find meaning of a text in context? Does a text have meaning different that the meaning that the author intended?

Texts:
“Penelope”   Dorothy Parker
“An Ancient Gesture”  Edna St. Vincent Millay
“Icarus”  Breughel
“To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph”   Anne Sexton
“Flight 063”   Brian Aldiss

Students read and view poetry and non-print texts created in response to preexisting art or literature. Students will deepen their understanding that art and literature can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. Students will present a group reading of one poem in which they demonstrate the most important ideas through their interpretation.

Unit 4: Heart of Darkness

EQ: How do we find meaning of a text in context? Does a text have meaning different that the meaning that the author intended?

Critical Lenses: Students learn Historical, Marxist, New Criticism, and Race Theory critical approaches to literature and apply them in an extended research and analysis paper. In this extended essay, students will examine the historical, social and cultural values represented in Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart and include citations from both texts and other, outside readings. Students will engage in peer review, and revision, according to teacher guidelines.

Students will keep an ongoing journal with specific citations from the play and their interpretation of the meaning of those citations in context.

Students will engage in a debate, arguing for or against the idea the either Conrad or Achebe is racist, bringing in evidence from the text and outside sources.

Students will have the opportunity to write a satirical poem following the form of Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden.”

Additional Texts:
“White Man's Burden”         Rudyard Kipling
“Brown Man's Burden”       Henry LaBouchere
How to write about Africa   Binyavanga Wainana
“Second Coming”     William Butler Yeats
Things Fall Apart    Chinua Achebe
“An Image of Africa”   Chinua Achebe

Unit 5: “Othello”

EQ: How do we find meaning of a text in context? Does a text have meaning different that the meaning that the author intended?

Students consider the idea of "otherness" and the influence of societal pressures on behavior. How do others perceive us? Students will analyze Othello as a heroic figure and apply Shakespearean themes to real life through viewing interviews with inmate/actors involved in Rehabilitation Through The Arts. Students will work in groups adapt and interpret a scene from the play.

Students will continue to apply Marxist, Feminist, Psychological, and Historical critical lenses to the play.

Unit 6: Existentialism and Theater of the Absurd
The Metamorphosis and The Stranger

Students analyze the function of humor, irony and satire. 
Students will create a humorous satirical piece criticizing current cultural norms of their choice.

Unit 7: Approaching the multiple choice test

Students work independently and in groups with released multiple choice items from AP tests. Students learn strategies for approaching multiple choice questions. 

Unit 9: Back to the beginning: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and
“Canterbury Tales”

Students learn a brief history of Indo-European languages and examine the way that cultural values and expectations are communicated through literature. Students will learn the stages in a heroic journey and be able to apply them to these and other works. 

Attendance and Materials

It is imperative that students regularly attend class. Students must arrive at class on time and ready to work. Materials students should have include paper, pens, highlighters and a notebook and/or binder. If your family has a financial difficulty and is unable to provide these materials, please let me know privately so that we can find a solution.  Most class work is designed to prepare students for the final tests and activities and must be done in a timely manner for students to do well on final assessments. According to Everett Public Schools' attendance policy, "important learning experiences that cannot be made up take place within the classroom. In fact our data show us that once a student has missed more than 10 classes per semester, he or she has significantly reduced the ability to learn the core objectives of the course and to earn credit. This holds true for excused absences as well as unexcused absences." If a student is absent it is that student's responsibility to find out what he or she missed and to complete the work in a timely manner. Please check on the LMS site and on my teacher website for missed work. You may need to find time to come by before or after school to pick up assignments. Unexcused absences will result in parent contact and a mandatory meeting with administration.

Academic Integrity
It is sometimes tempting to use someone else’s words to express your thoughts. Make sure you credit the source to avoid plagiarizing. It is much more important to show your ability to express your thinking in your own authentic voice than it is to submit the perfect paper. Plagiarism is using someone else's words, opinions, or ideas without acknowledging their source. If I find that you have used another's words (including another student's) without giving the author credit, you will lose credit for that piece of work. If it happens more than once, you will lose credit for the entire course. If you are unsure what counts as plagiarism, just ask. 
Late Work Policy
Due to the work-load in this class it is very easy to fall behind. For that reason, turning work in after the due date is discouraged. I will accept some late work, on a case-by-case basis, but you will earn a maximum of 60% on work turned in after the due date. What does this mean? It is possible to pass the class with late work, but in order to earn a good grade, work must be turned in on time.
Grading Policy
There are three aspects to grades:
1) Formative work, which is daily work students do in class to help them master skills. Students will be assessed on effort towards mastery and completeness of assignments. Most daily assignments are worth 10 points. Formative work counts for 15% of the grade.
2) Summative assessments, which are final tests, papers and projects and are graded on mastery of skills. These assignments are designed to reflect student progress and are worth between 40 and 60 points each. Summative work counts as 70% of the grade.
3) Class participation and behavior. Students must contribute willingly class discussions and participate in class work and group projects. Failure to participate or disruption of learning due to behavioral issues will be reflected in student grades. Behavior counts as 10% of the grade.

Percentage Scale:

93 — 100% = A 83 — 86% = B 73 — 76% = C 60 — 66% = D
90 — 92% = A- 80 — 82% = B- 70 — 72% = C- 0 — 59% = F
87 — 89% = B+ 77 — 79% = C+ 67 — 69% = D+