AP Literature and Composition

Curriculum Paper

Instructor:  Robert G. Pierce                    Email:  pierceb@duvalschools.org

School number:  693-7583 ext. 190                                                          

Website:  http://boston.redsox.tripod.com (no www)

Textbook:  Perrine’s Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense   8^th Edition     

Course Description

AP Literature and Composition engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of literature.  Students will deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers.  Students will consider a work’s structure, style, and themes as well as figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.  Students will read works from several genres and periods from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century.  Our focus will be World literature, multiple choice questioning, and the analytical AP Literature and Composition writing responses which deal with prose, poetry, and an open ended essay question.  Some form of research will be required each nine weeks.  Information on the research topic and due dates will be given in class.

Grade Distribution

The grading scale is:  A = 90% - 100%, B = 80% - 89%, C = 70% - 79%, D = 60% - 69%, F = 59% and below.  Nine weeks grades will be determined by a point system.  The source of grades will include essays, quizzes, tests, homework, classwork, and research papers.  Students will keep a point tally sheet in their writing folders which will remain in the classroom.  Students will know the value of each assignment based on the number of points allocated.  Essay revisions are encouraged but not required.  A student must meet with the teacher to review essay prior to revising (a conference form must be attached to essay and revision).  The student will be given the higher of the two grades.  The student has until the next essay is given to revise previous essay.  Essays will be given approximately every three weeks.  Thus, if the class is writing essay number two, essay number one’s revision time has passed. 

Attire and Behavior

The Student Code of Conduct will be enforced.  Respect for all individuals at all times is required.  Students must be seated and working when the tardy bell rings.  Always check the monitor for warm up instructions.  A reminder, the teacher dismisses the class, not the bell.  No food, drinks, nor gum are allowed in class.  Cell phones or any other electronic devices are NOT allowed in the classroom.  Students are required to dress appropriately according to the Student Code of Conduct.  Females should make sure that midriff and upper body areas are not exposed.  Male students should wear pants at the waist; hats should be removed before entering the classroom.

Materials

Each student is required to bring regular sized white notebook paper, assigned textbook, and blue or black ink pens to class.  All work is to be done in blue or black ink.  Work not done in blue or black ink will result in a zero, no credit.  Each student will maintain a writing portfolio which will be kept in the classroom.  Students may want to purchase sticky notes and highlighters to be used in class.

Attendance

Coming to class is mandatory!  Students must have an official readmit to enter class after being absent.  It is the student’s responsibility to inquire about make-up work or work missed due to an absence.  Following Duval County Public School policy, a student has the number of days he is absent to make up work.  For example, if a student misses three classes, upon returning to class, he has three classes to turn in all make up work. Students should inquire about make up work BEFORE class begins or check the class website for daily activities.  Make up work should be turned in on time.  See teacher if you have ANY questions.  All make up work should be done by the next progress report/scholarship warning period.  For example, my printed reports go out every two to two and one half weeks.  Work missed during the first half of the quarter may NOT be made up after the mid-term school-wide progress reports.  Be responsible; after all, this is SENIOR AP Literature and Composition.  Do not wait until May to become interested in your grade.

Tutoring/Safety Nets

Our class time is vital.  Make up work will be done outside of class.  

 To ensure that students are well prepared for the required AP writing, the following is required:

Go to the website www.chompchomp.com.  Click on Grammar Bytes, EXERCISES, and then click on the assigned topic.  After clicking on the topic, click on the appropriate handout, print, and complete.  Access to computers in the classroom will be available each morning from 7:30 – 8:00 and of course, the computers in our Learning Center (students will have to pay for each page printed) are accessible.  Pay attention to the following topics and due dates:

• Subject/verb agreement exercises 1,3,5, due September 2/3
• Pronoun agreement exercises 1,3,5, due September 23/24
• Irregular verbs exercises 2,4,6, due October 7/8
• Word choice exercises 2,3,6,8, due October 28/9
• Fragments exercises 1,3,5,7, due November 18/19
• Comma Splices exercises 1,3,5, due December 9/10

Academic Integrity Policy

Students are expected to take pride in their own work.  This means all work is done with honesty and integrity.  All work is your OWN work.  The school academic integrity policy will be enforced.

AP English Literature and Composition Standards

Reading Standards

Students to understand the experience of literature, the interpretation of literature, and the evaluation of literature

Experience:      the subjective dimension of reading and responding to 

                       literary works, including pre-critical impressions and emotional

                       responses.

Interpretation:  the analysis of literary works through close reading to arrive at 

                       an understanding of their multiple meanings.

Evaluation:      both an assessment of the quality and artistic achievement of 

                      literary works and a consideration of their social and cultural

                      values.

• to understand a work’s complexity
• to absorb its richness of meaning
• to analyze how that meaning is embodied in literary form

Writing Standards

Emphasis is placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity, which, for AP English, is characterized by the following:

• a wide-ranging vocabulary used with denotative accuracy and connotative resourcefulness;

• a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordinate and coordinate constructions;

• a logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques of coherence such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis;

• a balance of generalization with specific illustrative detail; and

• an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, maintaining a consistent voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism and antithesis.