AP^® English Literature and Composition Syllabus

Course Objectives:

In the practice of critical reading and examination of the Great Works of Literature, students will sharpen their understanding of the historical, social, textual and grammatical elements of a text. In addition to academic preparation, students will better understand themselves and complex human issues, as well as acquire discernment fro wise decision-making.

The three elements of literature studies and writing preparation will include:

1. Experience – the students’ impressions, emotions, insights in response to their reading and class discussions.
2. Interpretation – their understanding of multiple meanings and complexity of a text. In all texts, we target understanding of the complexity often found in the opposition, tension, conflict, or ambivalence of the passage.
3. Evaluation – the quality and artistic achievement of a work’s social and cultural values and the students’ ability to effectively communicate their insights through written and oral composition.

General Methods:

1. Response papers – annotated, free writing, reading journals, dialectical journals, critical reading responses.
2. Brief, focused analyses – language and structure of text
3. Making judgments – artistry, underlying social and cultural values, ability to argue or write persuasively supporting conclusions with textual evidence and logical reasoning (rhetorical skills).

Major Course Content:

In accordance with the AP^® English Course Description, AP^® English Literature and Composition is designed to challenge the motivated student with a course of study that is equivalent to college/university-level work. This course involves a rigorous study of various genres and time periods by reading, writing, and discussing critically a work’s complexity, richness of meaning, and how this meaning is conveyed through literary techniques. Through the course of the year, our study of literature is not a mere clinical examination of literature where we “tie a [story] to a chair and beat a confession out of it” (Billy Collins), but it is an enriching experience for the whole person – the intellect, senses, emotions, and imagination. Consequently, students are encouraged to develop their own voice and style of written and oral expression as we examine the masters of literature. In May, students take the AP^® English Literature and Composition Exam as a culmination of the course and work to earn a 4 or 5 on this exam, although a grade of 3 is granted college credit at most colleges and universities.

Student Objectives: AP^® Students will be able

1. Generate pieces of writing that evidence interpretative skills and a grasp of the

multiple meanings and complexity of a text communicated with sophistication and stylistic attention.

2. Read closely and critically texts that represent both classical and contemporary literature from American and British writers in the following genres: poetry, fiction, prose, and drama. Practice analyzing multiple choice passages throughout the year to develop accuracy in identifying interrelationship among ideas.

3. Sharpen their ability to discuss important ideas based upon their reading of challenging literature.

4. Write proficiently expository, analytical, argumentative essays that exhibit the

six elements of good writing.

5. Write creatively and develop an individual tone, voice and style that communicate with originality inferences, conclusion, and deep insights from the examination and study of challenging texts. Synthesis of ideas into original compositions.
6. Participate in class discussions that move beyond spontaneity and unrehearsed responses and that require, at times, preparation, informed understandings, and use of rhetorical skills.

Required Texts and Materials

Having read the most recent AP^® English Course Description, your English teacher has selected the following books have for their treatment of “great ideas” that transcend time and have relevance for today’s reader. Through your critical reading of these selections, your understanding of multiple themes and stylistic approaches will be deepened. In addition, your ability to communicate effectively and creatively will be enhanced as you examine each author’s style and use of rhetoric. We always keep in mind that we write to examine our own selves but also to be understood.

Primary list of textbooks, novels and anthologies:

• Arp, Thomas R. and Greg Johnson. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 8^th ed. New York: Thomson and Wadsworth, 2001.

· Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Ficiton, Poetry, and Drama. Ninth edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005.

• Perkins, George and Barbara, ed. American Traditions in Literature. Vol. 2. New York:

McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.

• Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Dorian Fielding Beid, 1969. (summer reading)

· Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Holt, Rhinehart, Winston Publication. (summer reading)

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover Publications, 1990.
• Melville, Herman. Billy Budd. (summer reading)

· Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1990.

• Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein.
• The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
• Modern novels (recommended list)
• AP^® resources - short fiction and essay passages (multiple choice and Question 2 and 3)
• AP^® resources - poetry passages (multiple choice and Question 1)

Applied Practices Resources – Hamlet, Heart of Darkness, Poetry selections, Jane Eyre

(Austin, Texas, 1999).

University of Texas at Tyler AP^® Curriculum Resources (2004, 2006)

Judy Soriano, College Board Consultant (2004)

Mansfield Summit High School

1071 Turner Warnell Rd.

Arlington, Texas 76133

Randy Baker, Lead Consultant (2006)

Putnam City North High School

11800 North Rockwell

Oklahoma City, OK 73162

Assessment Practices:

• Substantive responses to quotations or other excerpts from challenging texts.

(Elders’ How to Write a Paragraph)

• Timed critical responses to Question 3 (begin with summer reading selections)

· Timed critical responses to Question 1 and 2 as we examine elements of poetry and prose such as tone, irony, figurative language, and rhetorical devices.

• Peer editing and teacher feedback using grading rubrics and targeted criteria for practice of rhetorical/composition skills (tone, diction, sentence structure, transition devices, parallel phrases, absolute phrases, and participle phrases) [C4, C5]
• Creative writing activities such as sonnet compositions, metaphysical conceits,

and metaphorical compositions.

• Literary analysis responses – expository and persuasive
• Formal essays (personal experience, argumentative, expository with secondary sources using MLS format) [C5]
• Personal experience essay (coupled with college/scholarship essay)
• Journal responses (dialectical journals, free writing, thematic connections, practice blending textual evidence and commentary, points of view) [C4]

Course Syllabus

Writing Expectations:

1. Paragraph development – Examine purposes for topic sentences (generalizations and assertions); textual support (incorporating quotations, paraphrase, summary), commentary (insights, conclusions, inferences).

2. Critical Essay Guidelines – Introductions (variations with basic elements – title, author, time period, genre, brief plot summary, theme, thesis statements), body paragraph development using the following “Stand-Alone Paragraph” criteria (AP^® English Literature Syllabus 4), and conclusion paragraphs, supplemented with chapters from Trimmer, Writing With a Purpose, and Roberts, Writing About Literature.

	Stand-Alone Paragraph Criteria
1.	The first, second, or last sentence contains the main idea or assertion (presented in the thesis statement) or key words from the topic. After the first paragraph, the following topic sentences may be transitional statements to provide flow of thought: Example: The creature’s likeness to Victor Frankenstein extends beyond their physical alienation and is evidenced in their similar actions and reactions as they both seek revenge.
2.	Paragraph contains two or four sentences about specific details (textual evidence as summary, paraphrase, or brief quotation).
3.	Paragraph contains two or three explanatory sentences (commentary that interprets and connects the textual evidence to the theme and thesis).
4.	Details are interesting and appropriate.
5.	Paragraph ends with a good closing sentence that refers to the main idea without repeating it. This statement may transition into the next paragraph for continuity of thought.
6.	Paragraph is free of errors in agreement. (check-list provided).
7.	Paragraph contains transition devices as needed (see transition sheet).
8.	Free of punctuation errors (note comma usage).
9.	Free of spelling or word usage errors.

3. Timed essays accompanied by scoring guide as feedback from AP^® English Literature and Composition exams for each question. Teacher-student conferences conducted to discuss strengths and weaknesses in writing.

4. Grammar, usage, and mechanics: Writing workshops are designed to add color, voice, and precision to writing. Vocabulary development practiced (key words selected from literary work, characterization, and theme development); sentence density exercises target coordination and subordination, parallel structure, transitions, rhetorical strategies such as tone and anaphora, and sentence structure for effect and meaning. [C5]

Grading Criteria:

Weight	Assignment types:
50%	Timed essays, major projects, formal papers and critical essays, short research paper, reading tests, multiple choice passages (taken as test grades later in the course)
25%	Annotated notes, graphic organizers, background reads for social and historical factors, book cards, comparison/contrast notes, essay outlines
24%	Vocabulary exercises, grammar workshops, composition exercises, tone sheets, sentence and paragraph construction, timed reading practices

Pre-Course Objectives:

Rationale: Several works from the selected literature for this course contain allusions to classical mythology and various characters or events from the Bible.

• Background reading from Genesis, Exodus, and one of the four Gospels.

Edith Hamilton’s Mythology.

• Before reading the selected summer reading, familiarize yourself with the elements of a novel and the author’s background and literary movement. (provided in a packet of “Before You Read” material)

Read closely and critically Jane Eyre and Billy Budd or Crime and Punishment.

As you read, provide annotated notes, marginal notes, questions, tracing of themes based on suggestions by Mortimer Adler in How to Read a Book. [C4]

Journal responses – follow the attached schedule for these responses. Respond to the

suggested questions with well-organized responses, providing references to the

text and your observations. Incorporate the practices of good writing: good ideas,

logical organization, transitions, parallel structure, emphasis, textual evidence

combined with your commentary. Pay special attention to character development (direct and indirect characterization, psychological elements, thematic development, conflicts, irony and paradox/oppositions).

Book Card Reports – used to detail analysis of novel’s elements (setting, tone, characterization, stylistic devices, symbols, themes, key quotations) from Kennedy, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.

Unit I: Ancients, Anglo-Saxon Literature and the Middle Ages (6 weeks)

Unit Expectations: Students will gain experience with:

• Close and critical reading of selected texts – novel, epic, and poetry [C2}
• Discussion of literary elements, themes, author’s purpose and attitude
• Group learning and presentations to provide a more comprehensive understanding

of the texts

• Creative, original compositions in response to literature
• Timed written responses about novel and other selections
• Peer evaluation of timed writing using scoring guidelines and follow-up with teacher conference.
• Essay writing – developing logical organization, flow of thought, incorporating textual evidence with explanation (commentary).
• Ancient, Anglo-Saxon and Medieval literature to better understand the cultures, literary genres that arose out of the times and their contribution to modern thought.

A. Review elements of the novel and Open Question 3:

Book cards – Discuss record of various elements such as themes, symbols, exposition, rising action, climax, resolution, and reversals from summer reading and share journal insights and responses.

Group discussion: The Learner Discussion Game – As we continue to review the summer reading, students win points based on participation after having prepared responses to guided questions and gathered other student observations about author’s purposes, thematic relevance or connection to today, allusions to other works. Students also engage in effective discussion model by posing questions, using clarification techniques, offering elaboration, or providing affirmation or opposition to another student’s comments.

Group Posters and presentations: For more difficult texts such as Billy Budd, students form groups and develop a character analysis poster, which examines each character’s personality traits, motivations, psychological stance, and actions/reactions. These are described according to personality types/colors along with the four temperaments (melancholy, choleric, phlegmatic, and sanguine). This helps students sharpen their analytical powers to delve beneath the surface of character portrayal and examine the character’s true make-up in relation to other characters. Thus, students also gain experience comparing and contrasting characters in the novel. Once again, through these learning experiences, students are learning better how to develop informed opinions, which are substantiated with logical reasoning and textual evidence. This ultimately translates into more insightful writing experiences as well.

B. AP^® level writing skills:

In preparation for Question 3 timed writing (from the summer reading), students examine sample prompts, the essay criteria, and sample essays from previous years (i.e., the tragic hero functioning as instrument of other’s suffering).

• How to read and understand the prompt’s tasks (we practice marking the prompt by numbering or distinguishing the writing tasks that must be addressed in the essay). At this time, we review literary terms and techniques that are required in the prompt. (text: Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 8^th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.
• How to plan for the writing experience (AP^® suggestion – pyramid which outlines the main ideas (subtopics), the supporting details, and stylistic techniques as

specified – for Question 3 such as characterization, use of setting, development of a theme, elements of tragedy or comedy, importance of antagonist or minor characters, point of view) [C4]

• How to organize the critical essay (Use the handout, “Guidelines for Writing the Critical Essay” and Elder’s How to Write a Paragraph). We will practice writing introductions and evaluate these based on the guidelines. To avoid formulaic writing, students are encouraged to brainstorm other possibilities for insightful introductions that answer the prompt but with more originality. Next, we will practice writing a body paragraph and discuss the importance of topic sentences for developing a subtopic from the thesis and an assertion.
• Application: Practice timed prose essays, peer evaluation using a grading rubric, opportunities for immediate feedback, revising, editing, and rewriting draft for a second scoring. [C5]
• How to “exit” from the critical essay – writing the conclusion

C. Selected reading for Unit I:

· Plato – “Allegory of the Cave” – we examine Plato’s theory for understanding the physical universe and metaphysical concepts. As students read this excerpt, they are encouraged to take ownership of the text and follow Adler’s suggestions from How to Read a Book, recording marginal notes and highlighting Plato’s use of symbols and allegorical elements. In small groups, the students then discuss their understanding of Plato’s meaning and how Plato presents his meaning. They then draw a graphic, cartoon, or build with blocks or other items a model of Plato’s cave allegory, which are accompanied by student-generated note cards, which label the various objects and their significance. Theme: Purpose of enlightenment and responsibilities that accompany education. This activity also enables students to better understand the cognitive processes involved in discovering abstract meaning.

· Aristotle – “Poetics” – examining Aristotle’s understanding of tragic and comedic elements to provide a foundational understanding for future study of the epic, comedy and tragedy.

· Beowulf – Jane Shaeffer materials as well as other supplemental materials – elements of the epic and epic hero, Anglo-Saxon cultural traits.

Creative composition – the Boast, must contain epic elements – boasting, relationship of thane to his king (or substitute your allegiance), use of kenning and epithet, personification, imagery, parallelism and participial phrases.

Other creative activities might include the Anglo-Saxon riddle, writing our own kennings to characterize classmates.

· Canterbury Tales – Read middle ages time period handouts focusing on importance of the church and feudal system, Chaucer’s biography, and Chaucer’s use of satire and comedy, poetics, characterizations, subtleties of tone, discrepancies of appearance versus reality, and frame story in Canterbury Tale.

· Writing analysis – Students will write a literary analysis of Canterbury Tales, focusing on the clergy that incorporates secondary sources (MLA internal documentation). Students have access to MLA forms guidelines from “Short, Manageable Research Projects” (Galena Park ISD) as well as online MLA handbook for reference purposes. In an essay, the student examines the descriptive details of the religious character which pertain to each of the four vows (poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability) and explains how the actual behavior and attitudes “are” or “are not” far from the promised vows. (Randy Baker, Putnam City North High School). [C3, C4]

· A grading rubric is provided which assesses use of descriptive details, explanation of vows, incorporation of secondary sources, and grammatical

and mechanical proficiency.

Unit II: English Renaissance and Shakespeare (8 weeks) [C2]

Unit Expectations: Students will practice

• Basic principles of interpretation – examine article from Perrine’s Literature,

“What Is Poetry?” to distinguish poetry from prose and other forms of writing.

• Computer lab – Explore Billy Collin’s Website, “Poetry 180: A Poem a Day,”

to expose students to less intimidating poetry that contains both down-to-

earth use of language and Latinate usage. Respond to Poetry Interpretation

questions to begin reading closely and critically to various poems. [C2]

• Pairing for practical application – students perform task of “folding sheets” and then read Seamus Heaney’s Sonnet from Clearances to visualize how meaning arises from actions, poetic structure, rhythm and rhyme. Respond to “Explication of a Poem” which takes students through process of interpretation such as examining sonnet’s structure, use of tone, repetition, key words/images, speaker’s attitude/tone, situation, setting, use of figurative language, emotional connotations, and then theme statement (subjects + author’s tone = theme or “how the poem moves,” as described by Collins.
• Using British/American Poets books/resources to examine other sonnets, from 16^th century to contemporary, and the diversity of subjects and styles of this poetic form. Responses range from journal pieces to more formal analyses. [C4]
• Analyze and examine Shakespeare’s development of the tragic hero, use of sensory imagery, Freytag’s Dramatic Pyramid, various interpretations of Hamlet as a tragic figure, and the story’s tragic ending.

A. The Sonnet - discuss other approaches or guidelines for poetry analysis – TP-CASTT and Explication Steps with sonnets by Spencer, Shakespeare, Longfellow, Claude McKay, Yeats, Millay, Moore. Read extensively The Tutor Period and other historical and societal background which enriches students understanding of the literary movements and use of the sonnet.

• Practice identifying tone in various sonnets using acronym – DIDLS (diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax)
• Compose an original sonnet, providing graphic representation with clip art, sketches, magazine clippings, book covers, and share with the class. Grading rubric is provided which specifies requirements for sonnets such as lyrical content, poetic devices, rhythm (iambic pentameter or another variation), rhyme scheme or variation.
• Write timed Poetry-Free Responses, using free response guidelines (AP^® materials), analysis techniques, and organization plan before writing the essay.

Analysis steps include marking key ideas as we read the poem, observing

shifts in speaker, setting, situation/ noting tone, attitude shifts, and stylistic

devices throughout the poem. [C4]

· Practice timed response to sonnet from Modern Love by George Meredith. Continue the process of examining scoring guidelines, revising, editing, rewriting, analyzing

student model responses with rationale and commentary for score given.

· Read background information on Meredith’s views, experiences, and the Victorian views of love and marriage which contributed to his writing of the sonnet cycle in Modern Love.

B. Metaphysical Poetry – Extensive study of John Donne, beginning with “Meditation 17” to examine his use of the conceit in his essay. Other selections by J. Donne, including “Valediction Forbidding Mourning,” “Death, Be Not Proud,” “Holy Sonnet 19,” and “Broken Heart.” (George Herbert multiple-choice practice).

· Students will practice writing their own metaphors and conceits which can be incorporated in journal responses and other selected writing projects. (Elder’s How to Write a Paragraph”)

· Practice Timed writing from “Broken Heart” or another metaphysical selection.

C. The Tragic Hero -

• Review Aristotle’s “Poetics,” and the 7 elements of tragic hero, focusing on what constitutes a tragic hero. Class notes will delineate comedic and tragic elements, the characteristics of a tragic hero, the types of irony, and the Elizabethan worldview, hierarchy of beliefs, and the theatre.
• Throughout reading, using both reader’s theatre and play on audiotape, students will compare and contrast the soliloquies, the foils, and characters’ motivations.
• As an ongoing project, students will complete a “Quotations Project,” which requires a collection of 20 important quotations that capture a characterization, conflict, theme, or dilemma and illustrate with creativity in a composition book which will be covered and decorated to depict symbolic interpretation of play.
• Students will then write a formal literary analysis by either supporting one of the four interpretations of Hamlet as a tragic figure or comparing and contrasting the tragic figures in the play and their “hamartia” and tragic fall (Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes, Ophelia). Essays will possess both expository and analytical elements and will be edited and rewritten for a final draft. Papers will also incorporate analysis of Shakespeare’s use of literary devices to convey his message and secondary sources to support student’s interpretation. [C3]
• Writing instruction will include review of theme and thesis statements (Robert’s Writing Themes About Literature, and Degen’s Crafting Expository Writing).
• Later, students will write a timed essay for Question 3 on the AP exam and a comparison/contrast of two of Hamlet’s soliloquies using Roberts, Writing About Literature, for lesson on comparison papers. This paper will target thematic development and stylistic analysis. Evaluation will include AP^® composition skills and use of rhetoric. [C5]
• Class discussions: examine Hamlet’s character development, psychological complexity, and ambivalence as he faces a dilemma.

Unit III: Enlightenment and the 18^th century. (prose, literary devices, and the essay) (6 weeks)

Novel: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

“My task . . . is, but the power of the written work, to make you hear, to make you feel – it is, before all, to make you see.” – Joseph Conrad

Unit Expectations: Students will gain experience

• Understanding the Age of Reason characteristics and the cultural factors involved. [C2]
• Examining the uses of satire and wit (Juvenalian and Horatian) and make connections to contemporary uses of satire and parody
• Analyzing sample prose passages from the Enlightenment and other literary movements. Targeting Question 2 Free Responses and providing feedback. [C4]
• Actively reading a symbolic modern novel and understanding its implications for cultural issues involving prejudice, oppression, hypocrisy, and exploitation.

A. Various essays: Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Man” and his use of aphorisms.

• Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and excerpts from Gulliver’s Travels

· Prose passages by Addison Steele, Samuel Johnson, and John Locke and how these have contributed to contemporary thinking.

• Poetry: “Rape of the Lock,” from Sound and Sense

B. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, impressionistic writing

• Students will read Heart of Darkness and explore Conrad’s use of structure (frame story), multiple points of view, setting, ambivalence, characterization, and symbols to gain insight into Conrad’s message about the reality of moral degradation.
• Students will explore historical significance of Imperialism in colonial Africa and implications for imperialists and natives (geographical information about Africa, former Zaire, the Congo, and Belgium). Power point presentation and information from former missionary to Africa – Sandy Peek.
• Students will keep a journal (free write, guided responses, dialogue journal, and dialectical journaling) throughout the reading and incorporate Conrad’s extensive vocabulary for precision in word choice as well as cumulative sentences which layer various impressions, similar to Conrad’s technique. [C5]
• Students will examine Conrad’s syntax, tone, and rhetorical strategies such as repetition, parallelism, and antithesis.
• Students will have opportunities for timed writing for Question 3 Open Response to various prompts targeting such themes as hypocrisy, investigation of a mystery, and importance of minor characters, and significance of setting. [C4]
• Culminating composition – Comparison/contrast of Conrad’s novel and T.S. Eliot’s “Hollow Men,” to examine the theme of moral decline, author’s tone, use of setting, symbols, and allusions. [C3]
• Writing instruction: comparative, contrast transition devices, persuasive techniques, pronoun usage, conciseness, use of participial phrases, parallel structure, and weaving textual evidence with commentary throughout essay.

Unit IV: The Romantic Era and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (6 weeks)

Texts: Shelley’s Frankenstein

Introduction to Frankenstein

Sources for Frankenstein (review of Greek mythology – Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and “Prometheus”).

Rime of the Ancient Mariner – look for connections between Coleridge and Shelley’s vision of the tragic figure

Refer to Billy Budd and elements of Romanticism found in the novel

Unit Expectations: Students will gain experience

• Researching contemporary issues such as recent scientific discoveries that could pose potential threat if misused (i.e., cloning, advances in warfare technology, bionics, energy sources, resources, and more).
• Reading extensively about Romantic era – industrialization, city life, reform movements, development of middle/working class, Romanticism as a revolt against Neoclassicism. (Sources: excerpts from Western Civilization, *) [C2]
• http://www.rc.umd.edu/ (Romantic circles – scholarly website devoted to study of Romantic period and culture).
• Actively reading Shelley’s Frankenstein.
• Examining, identifying, and analyzing additional poetry terms from Elements of Poetry as used by various poets. (*)
• Actively reading nature poetry and Transcendental selections (Wordsworth, Keats, Blake, Coleridge, Byron, Longfellow, Whitman, Lowell, Holmes, Whittier) Sources include Perkins’ American Traditions in Literature. Vol. 1 and 2. [C2]
• Writing a comparison/contrast essay of various poetry selections (“Helen,” “There Once was a Boy” and “The Most of It.” Keats and Frost, Dickinson and Frost.) Bright Star and __________, Night ). Discuss strategies for organizing and writing comparatively from Roberts’ Writing Themes About Literature. [C4, C5]

1. Examine the various themes in Shelley’s Frankenstein and her use of Gothic elements, nature imagery, epistolary method and framework story. Responses will include paragraph development, “Snapshot Photo Album” projects, analytical journals that provide generalizations supported with specific details from novel, and practice with subordination and coordination (from McCrimmon’s Writing With a Purpose).
2. Students will participate in literary circles, share insights from a task sheet that specifies group members’ jobs (Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Connector, Travel Guide, Vocabulary Enricher).
3. Writing creatively through such poetic compositions as “Found Poems,” letters to parents or siblings (in the vein of Walton’s letters, and descriptive characterizations of close relative with drawing). [C4]
4. Writing a persuasive essay supporting Shelley’s portrayal of the protagonist as a tragic hero and drawing parallels to Hamlet (other similarities provided such as the use of the foil, the themes of parent/child relationships, loneliness and isolation, social alienation, the use of reversals). [C4]
5. Writing timed responses to selected prompts – Question 1 and 3
6. Practice analysis of multiple choice passages from 16^th century to Romantic era.

Unit V: The Victorian and Modern Periods (6 weeks)

Texts: Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest

· Historical reading selections of Victorian era.

· The Victorian Literary Studies Archive

· http://victorian.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/victorianweb/

· Articles such as MacLachian, C.J.M. “The Nature and Theory of Comedy.”

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_se/personal/Comedy.htm

· Comedy packet from AP Summer Institute, 2006 (University of Texas at Tyler). Randy Baker, Lead Consultant.

Unit Expectations: Students will gain experience

· Reviewing and discussing the elements of comedy and use of satire and

irony for various purposes (i.e. Chaucer, Swift, and others).

· Identifying contemporary usage of comedic elements from TV sitcoms, classic reruns, political cartoons, newspaper cartoons (incongruity, derision, automaton, irony, reduction to absurdity, etc.). We will also site examples from previous reading selections such as Shakespeare. This will be accomplished as a poster project, Power Point, or flashcard format.

· Examine AP prompts addressing reversals and comedic elements

· Reading extensively about Victorian era traits, views, and manners.

· Review Jane Eyre book card, prompts, examples, themes

· Review contents of extensive reading thus far with another timed Open Response 3.

1. Read closely and critically Oscar Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest in light of understanding of comedic elements and dramatic plot development for three-act play. As students read, on a graphic organizer they will record examples of Wilde’s use of comedic elements and how these contribute to the various themes and characterizations.
• Timed Question 3 – prompt taken from AP selections related to comedy or city and country settings. [C4]
• Short reading quizzes frequently given to assess student’s comprehension of plot and character development.
2. Incorporate student timed responses to Wilde’s Lady Windmere’s Fan Question 2 passage and Henry James’s “The Pupil” to further explore Victorian ideals and the use of irony, discrepancy, and attitude in a complex passage.
3. Analyze other prose passages from such Victorian writers as Matthew Arnold and poetry from Tennyson, Browning, Hardy, and Owens’ war poems.
4. Creative composition – add a scene at a strategic “location” in Wilde’s play, Importance of Being Earnest, continuing his use of comedic elements, dialogue, and stage directions and then peers critique one another’s additions.
5. Complete study of Victorian era and comedic elements by examining American counterpart with Mark Twain.

F. Practice analysis of modern poetry using TP-CASTT and Poetry Explication Steps, Question 1 Poetry Free-Response with grading rubric (Wilfred Owen, T.S. Eliot, George Meredith, Seamus Heaney, and others).

Unit VI and VII: Modern Short Fiction and the Modern Novel (4 weeks)

Texts: Short story selections from William Faulkner, Joseph Conrad, Kate Chopin, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen Crane, Katherine Mansfield, and others.

Novel selections from the following titles – Ceremony, The Awakening, All the Pretty Horses, Beloved, Catch 22, A Farewell to Arms, Things Fall Apart, Poisonwood Bible, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Stone Angel, The Heart of the Matter, the Birthday Party, The Grapes of Wrath.

Unit Expectations: Students will gain experience:

• As future lifetime learners who can analyze and assess independently a novel or short work of fiction using the elements of fiction. [C2]
• Identifying themes that emerge during close reading of novel or short fiction.
• Examining literary work for its structure, genre, characterization, literary devices, and tragic or comedic elements. [C3]
• Incorporating research into analysis of literary work, consulting primary and secondary sources (literary criticism). Formal argumentative literary paper on novel of choice.

1. Students apply close reading strategies to modern short story and novel selection with annotated notes and journaling elements of fiction.
2. Students create own quizzes – select a significant passage to analyze for its presentation of dominant idea or rhetorical devices.
3. From Kennedy’s Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.

“Reading Long Stories and Novels,” and Trimmer’s Writing With a Purpose for persuasive elements, students compose a short persuasive research paper: [C3]

Students will select a fiction writer on our reading list this year whose work “seemed most impressive,” an author whose greatness they would defend. They then write a paper defending that author’s claim to literary greatness and research the author and his/her work using at least three different critical sources. Students will present clear reasons why the author was a major writer and support the argument with examples from the writer’s work and statements from critics. [C4, C5] Rough draft feedback provided and “clocking” method of peer feedback before final draft is due. [C5]

Teacher Resources:

AP Program: A Student Guide to the AP English Courses and Examinations. ETS, 2000

and 2001.

AP English Literature and Composition 2005-2006: Professional Development Workshop

Materials: Importance of Tone.

Degen, Michael. Crafting Expository Writing: Practical Approaches to the Writing Process for Students and Teachers. Dallas, Texas: Telemachos Publishing, 2004

Elder, Dr. Paul and Dr. Linda Elder. How to Write a Paragraph: The Art of Substantive

Writing. Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2003.

Harvey, Michael. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 2003.

Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 9^th edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005.

Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron. The Bedford Reader. Ninth edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006.

Roberts, Edgar V. Writing Themes About Literature. 11^th edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006.

Teacher’s Guide AP^® English Literature and Composition, Educational Training Service.

Trimmer, Joseph F. Writing With a Purpose. 14^th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

Supplemental Resources:

Perkins, George and Barbara Perkins, eds. (Vol. 1 and 2). The American Tradition in

Literature. New York: McGraw – Hill, Inc. 1994.

Williams, Oscar. Major British Poets: From William Blake to Dylan Thomas. New York: Penguin Group, 1963.

CD/Audio Tapes:

Listen and Read Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Cassette and Book.

Seven Ages: An Anthology of Poetry With Music. 1998 NAXOS Audio Books Ltd.

Websites:

Romantic era – http://www.rc.umd.edu/www.apcentral.com

Victorian era – http://victorian.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/victorianweb/

http://www.apcentral.collegeboard.com

http://www.newyorker.com

Databases: EBSCO Host and Student Research Center (scholarly articles)