Course Syllabus

   


Name of Course:  AP English LitERATURE & Composition             

Name of Teacher:  Mr. Dudek                         

E-Mail Address:  sdudek@aptoshs.net

Voice Mail :  688-6565 ex 690

Room :  E-212

Preparation Period:  4

 

I

 

 

 

Course Description/Outline (reflects needed skills)

 

     AP English Lit. is a college-level Advanced Placement English class.  Students will read a selection of representative literature by classical, Renaissance, and modern writers.  Classical and Renaissance works may include Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Antigone, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Later works include Isben’s Hedda Gabler and A Doll’s House, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Albert Camus’ The Stranger (and/or Hesse’s Demian), and Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit.  Poetry will be taught as a thematic complement to each major work, but we will examine closely the metaphysical poets George Herbert and John Donne, and several key poets of the Romantic and modern periods. Students will take the AP Examination in the spring.

Many of the selections above are in the required textbook: Literature: an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, 9th ed., by Kennedy & Gioia, ISBN 0-321-27260-9

 

       In addition to the course books read over the academic year, you will participate in the PVUSD Million Word Challenge by reading one extra book of literary merit. You may submit your own choice for approval or select a book from the 500+ books in my classroom library. You will be assessed on your reading by a meaningful reading assessment activity developed and submitted by you and approved by me.

 

 

II

 

Materials Provided (name of textbook, other resources, video used,etc.)

 

 For textbook and supplementary reading see course description above.

 

 Videos: selected parts of Othello, Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Wit

 

 

III

 

Materials Required

 

1.        A notebook is required for this class. The notebook will contain class notes, quick-writes, information about homework, dialectic journal entries, timed writing practices, style analysis exercises, and all papers that have been graded and returned to you. The Advanced Placement Literature and Composition exam demands that a student be able to read critically and write incisively for short time periods (often 30 or 40 minutes for each section.) You will write a number of practice essays, and those writings are important for you and other students to evaluate and revise. Reviewing the language of the essay questions and your responses is very important. One might even say that practice and review with these exams are essential to several non-graded assignments as part of a short portfolio on tragedy, comedy, satire etc., and I’ll grade only one or two of the papers.

 

2.        A portfolio of specific writing assignments is required. The first portfolio will focus on prose analyses; the second will address free-response compositions; the third will deal with poetry analyses; and the last two will deal with all three types and a separate portfolio on satire.

 

 

IV

 

Goals (knowledge to be acquired, technical skills, etc., ESLRs must be referenced, standards alignment)

 

     Excellence in writing about literature requires constant growth and consistent interaction between teacher and student; therefore, you will revise all written work, in response to my comments, as many times as it takes to demonstrate that you have mastered the requirements of the assignment. Initially we will discuss the goals of each proposed written assignment in class and create an appropriate rubric as a frame of reference for success. You will also be shown some examples from earlier classes of student work that demonstrates excellence.

   

     Prior to each revision I will write comments and a preliminary grade on your paper. Typically, comments will focus on your efforts to begin with a clearly stated thesis that accurately reflects all requirements of the prompt. This in turn should be followed immediately by several carefully selected examples of strong supportive textual evidence. Finally, your response should include a concise conclusion that deftly summarizes the essence of your evidence and reminds the reader of strong connection to the thesis.

   

    Your work will also be examined for effective word choice, suitably varied sentence structure, sensible organization, subtle attention to transition, incorporation of appropriate literary terms and comprehensive use of SAT vocabulary.

    

     Further instruction and feedback will occur as necessary in periodic class discussions and written comments. This will include a final review of the assignment and your constructive commentary.

    

 

A.     Prose Analysis: Students will learn how to identify and write about such prose elements as syntax, tone, organization, point of view, psychic distance, diction, details, imagery, and many other narrative and rhetorical techniques.  ESLR, A, B, and C

 

B.     Students will learn how to focus on 3-4 stylistic or rhetorical elements by analyzing, and writing on, the prose analysis sections of previous A.P. English Literature Exams.  ESLRs A, B, and C

 

C.     Poetry Analysis: Students will learn how to analyze poems from pre-Renaissance to modern times, focusing on such elements as metaphorical language (simile, metaphor, extended metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, etc.), poetic structure, tone, theme, and other elements.  ESLRs A, B, and C

 

D.     Students will be able to address typical A.P. Exam prompts by writing unified, well-written essays that address the three elements of the prompt. ESLRs A, B, and C

 

E.      Free-Response Writing: Students will be able to write unified, well-written multi-paragraph essays on at least 5 free-response prompts (taken from previous exams).  Using a variety of writing techniques and drawing from extensive portfolio work, students will learn different ways of addressing free-response prompts. ESLRs A, B, and C

 

F.     Students will learn time management skills and techniques for answering the objective questions of the Multiple Choice portion of the A.P. Literature Exam.  ESLR A

 

G.     Students will give five short, formal oral presentations on prose analyses from several literary works they have read, movies they have analyzed, and plays they have read and analyzed.  ESLRs C

 

* based on the California Language Arts Content Standards and Aptos High Expected School-Wide Learning Results. Aptos High ESLRs may be accessed at: www.aptoshs.net/resources/standards . CA Content Standards are available at http://goldmine.cde.ca.gov/ci/reading.html . 

 

 

V

 

Units of Study (activities)

 

A.     The course begins with a nine-week study centered on Existentialism and The Individual’s Search for Personal and Social Identity. We will look at age, race, gender, culture, and other aspects of identity in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Ellison’s Invisible Man, Glaspell’s Trifles, and other works of prose and poetry.

 

B.     The second unit, Poisoned Love, will focus on developing a working understanding of literary concepts and terms that are essential to analyzing literary works and regularly appear in the free-response and multiple-choice portions of the A.P. Literature Exam.  We will follow the single theme of poisoned love through at least three works, culminating in a 3-work comparison and contrast essay.

 

C.          Poetry will be introduced in the first semester to augment the thematic study of literature (The search for Identity, Poisoned Love, etc.)  In the second semester poetry will be studied intensively for five or more weeks.

 

 

 

VI

 

Methods of Assessment (may include tests, portfolios, projects, essays, etc.)

 

A.         Quick Writes or short essay responses

B.        Quizzes on each of the major works

C.        Essays and in-class timed writing

D.        Oral Presentations

E.        Class Participation

F.        Mock AP Exams

 

 

VII

 

Grading Policy

 All assignments are scored according to points earned over points possible. All assignments earn points towards quarter and semester grades. The approximate breakdown for final grades is:

          Timed Writings & Formal Essays = 40%

          Tests, Quizzes, & Homework = 30%

          Oral Presentations =15%

          Notes & Class Participation =15%      

 

 

VIII

 

Class Procedures (missed assignments, make up work assignment format)

 

1.        Students who have been absent should contact another student in the class about missed work or check the “Assignments” box of my Web page; however, the most important part of an assignment may be related to in-class discussion and interaction, and that can’t be made up.  Please remember your commitment to the contract for this class.  Four absences per semester may result in your being dropped from the class. 

2.        Students must make up missed quizzes, timed writing, or other assignments as soon as possible or face a severe reduction in their grades.

3.        Students are expected to complete every assignment on time. Development of analytical skills depends on careful, thorough, and timely execution of ALL assignments.

4.        Late work will be accepted only for an excused absence as defined by California Education Code 46010.

5.        Assignments are posted on my Web site at the end of the day. Work turned in late because of an unexcused absence will be returned sans grade.

6.        A late homework assignment loses 50% of possible points after one day. No credit is given for work turned in more than one day late. However, you may avoid any penalty if you e-mail an assignment to me on or before the due date and turn in your hard copy on the first day of your return.

7.        An assignment that has been graded and returned to the class is no longer available for make up.

8.     All homework is to be typed in MLA format on letter-size bond paper in a 12-point plain font. You may type on both sides of the paper. A printable version of the MLA writing format is available in the Resources/Links section of my Web page.

9.     Extra credit Work is available to students who have completed all regular assignments. Its function is to complement or perfect a grade not to supplement or make up for missed assignments.

 

 

IX

 

Behavioral Expectations (and consequences)

The guidelines for behavior and attendance established by Aptos High, PVUSD, and The State of California will be followed in the classroom. Steps for mitigating and discouraging behavioral problems will be followed accordingly.

·      Arrive on time and begin working immediately

·      Bring all necessary materials (including homework) every day.

·      Respect for others is absolutely essential for success. We are all the same in many different ways. An open mind is a key to learning; a closed mind is a coffin.

·      Develop the skill of active listening. It is just as vital as stating your own views. In fact, it may help you to clarify your own thoughts.

·      Periodic review is essential for outstanding performance and understanding newly acquired learning. In other words, read things MORE THAN ONCE. It takes repeated exposure to embed new knowledge in your memory.

·      The classroom is not a snack bar or a beauty salon or an electronic arcade. Keep food, gum, beverages, electronic devices, and makeup out of sight at all times.

·      Remain seated until the period ends with the sound of the passing bell.

·      Your queries and contributions related to class work are welcomed and encouraged. Unsolicited comments and conversations are not. You will lose five participation points per occurrence.

 

I have read and understand the Course Syllabus for

 

Mr. Dudek’s AP English Literature class

 

                        Parent/Guardian Signature ___________________________________ DATE _____________ 

 

                        STUDENT NAME (print) ____________________________________________ PERIOD ____________