Daily Assignments
Syllabus
Jacki Colfack
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition
Northwest High School
Syllabus 2017-2018
Class Information
“As soon as I open [a book], I occupy the book, I stomp around in it. I underline passages, scribble in the margins, leave my mark . . . I like to be able to hear myself responding to a book, answering it, agreeing and disagreeing in a manner I recognize as peculiarly my own.” --George Bernard Shaw
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” --Ernest Hemingway
Welcome to AP English! The two quotes above represent a few things that you’ll need to thrive in this class: 1. Being an active reader instead of a passive one, and 2. Humor and sarcasm. Reading in this class is so much more than plot comprehension, and the first way to help yourselves make meaning from the reading selections is through discussion with the author while reading (i.e. marking the texts up). Writing can be difficult (hence the image of bleeding while writing), but keeping your sense of humor about the process will help overall. We understand the image presented in the quote above to be sarcastic, but there is an element of truth there for most of us.
Thoughts on Literature
We study literature for many reasons: to learn about ourselves, to learn about others, for historic significance, for enjoyment...the list goes on. The literature selections in this course are selected with the intent of expanding your appreciation of multicultural literature, increasing the depth of knowledge you use in processing literature, and helping you in studying the human condition. By the end of the course, it is our goal to be able to see how literature is not only a conversation between an author and a greater audience, but also how it is a conversation between an author and a singular reader. In other words, you’ll be more proficient in making literature work for you to help develop your understanding of the world around you.
Thoughts on Writing
Many students come into AP English under the assumption they know what makes a great paper: a five-paragraph format, a precise one-sentence thesis statement, and no grammatical errors. However, the variety of styles of writing students will be asked to use differs greatly from previous years' work. Each style will have a separate set of criteria and will come with precise expectations and rubrics with each assignment. Most of the writing will be more reflective writing--how did the book affect you? In what way? While the reflection itself stems from your own mind, it will rely heavily upon incorporating proof and support from the texts we are using in class at the time the writing is assigned. Some writing is direct annotation of a text, some is research based, some is hand-written journal response, etc. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity, which, for AP English, is characterized by the following:
Grading
Although the material being studied is at a collegiate level, you are still enrolled as a high school student. Therefore, there must be a happy medium between the expectations of a college student and the high school grading policy. The following will be the policy I follow throughout the course of the year:
Unit examinations, major compositions and projects will make up 70% of your grade. These are summative assessments. Daily assignments, quizzes, and practice work will make up 30% of your grade and are called formative assessments. Most work you turn in will be written work and will be in the 70% of your grade.
NOTE: Be very careful to avoid any type of plagiarism. The advancement of technology has made plagiarism easy to detect and I take the crime very seriously. Please refer to the student handbook for the school’s policy regarding a plagiarized assignment.
Late Work
For each day late that a major test/examination, major composition, or major project is completed or turned in late, points will be deducted.
Extra credit will not be given for this course.
Semester One (Projected) Outline
Things may need to be adjusted as we go. Checking my website weekly for the course assignments is always a good idea for long-term planning.
Week 1
Christmas Break Reading: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Semester Two (Projected) Outline
Week 1
Letters of Recommendation
I am willing to help you with your college planning process in any way I can. Most colleges and scholarship boards require letters of recommendation from non-relative individuals. I’m happy to write a letter for you so long as you give me plenty of notice and the appropriate materials so I can draft the best recommendation possible. The requirements are as follows:
College Essays
I am also willing to help you with college essays. Again, you must plan ahead here. Most essays require three to four drafts for the best possible outcome. Keep in mind while writing these essays that admissions boards and scholarship boards read hundreds of essays: how can you make your essay stand out among the rest? Also, always keep the essay within the length requirements as directed.
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition
Northwest High School
Syllabus 2017-2018
Class Information
- Room: 154
- Email: [email protected]
- Tutoring/Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; no after-school hours on Wednesdays due to teacher PLC meetings; meetings also available by appointment
“As soon as I open [a book], I occupy the book, I stomp around in it. I underline passages, scribble in the margins, leave my mark . . . I like to be able to hear myself responding to a book, answering it, agreeing and disagreeing in a manner I recognize as peculiarly my own.” --George Bernard Shaw
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” --Ernest Hemingway
Welcome to AP English! The two quotes above represent a few things that you’ll need to thrive in this class: 1. Being an active reader instead of a passive one, and 2. Humor and sarcasm. Reading in this class is so much more than plot comprehension, and the first way to help yourselves make meaning from the reading selections is through discussion with the author while reading (i.e. marking the texts up). Writing can be difficult (hence the image of bleeding while writing), but keeping your sense of humor about the process will help overall. We understand the image presented in the quote above to be sarcastic, but there is an element of truth there for most of us.
Thoughts on Literature
We study literature for many reasons: to learn about ourselves, to learn about others, for historic significance, for enjoyment...the list goes on. The literature selections in this course are selected with the intent of expanding your appreciation of multicultural literature, increasing the depth of knowledge you use in processing literature, and helping you in studying the human condition. By the end of the course, it is our goal to be able to see how literature is not only a conversation between an author and a greater audience, but also how it is a conversation between an author and a singular reader. In other words, you’ll be more proficient in making literature work for you to help develop your understanding of the world around you.
Thoughts on Writing
Many students come into AP English under the assumption they know what makes a great paper: a five-paragraph format, a precise one-sentence thesis statement, and no grammatical errors. However, the variety of styles of writing students will be asked to use differs greatly from previous years' work. Each style will have a separate set of criteria and will come with precise expectations and rubrics with each assignment. Most of the writing will be more reflective writing--how did the book affect you? In what way? While the reflection itself stems from your own mind, it will rely heavily upon incorporating proof and support from the texts we are using in class at the time the writing is assigned. Some writing is direct annotation of a text, some is research based, some is hand-written journal response, etc. Throughout the course, 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.
- This class contains literature selections and writing tasks expected for a college freshman. All of the coursework is chosen to prepare students to be successful on the AP exam.
- This class is intended to be discussion-based. It is not a lecture course where the teacher leads the class to “correct” answers. The learning you gain through this class will be based on your collective contribution to the daily interactions we have with one another.
- Some course material may be emotionally charged. You may not agree with everything you read, but that can be equally helpful for you as a student. If you are struggling with a concept/word/idea, step back and ask yourself, “What is the greater purpose of the author using _______ in the work?” or "Why does this bother me so much?"
- To prepare students for the AP exam they will take in the spring
- To learn and apply reading skills and strategies to comprehend text
- To learn and apply writing skills and strategies to communicate
- To learn and apply speaking and listening skills and strategies to communicate
- To identify, locate, and evaluate information of varying types
- By the end of the course, you should be able to respond to any piece of literature (poem, play, short story, or novel) past a gut emotional reaction. You will be able to analyze and criticize the piece, both in speech and in writing. In doing so, you will show your literary expertise in select terminology, form, and tone.
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
- Night by Elie Wiesel
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder
- "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles
- "Antigone" by Sophocles
- "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare
- A great many poems and short stories from varying time periods and authors
- Self-selections for Inquiry Project
Grading
Although the material being studied is at a collegiate level, you are still enrolled as a high school student. Therefore, there must be a happy medium between the expectations of a college student and the high school grading policy. The following will be the policy I follow throughout the course of the year:
Unit examinations, major compositions and projects will make up 70% of your grade. These are summative assessments. Daily assignments, quizzes, and practice work will make up 30% of your grade and are called formative assessments. Most work you turn in will be written work and will be in the 70% of your grade.
NOTE: Be very careful to avoid any type of plagiarism. The advancement of technology has made plagiarism easy to detect and I take the crime very seriously. Please refer to the student handbook for the school’s policy regarding a plagiarized assignment.
Late Work
For each day late that a major test/examination, major composition, or major project is completed or turned in late, points will be deducted.
Extra credit will not be given for this course.
Semester One (Projected) Outline
Things may need to be adjusted as we go. Checking my website weekly for the course assignments is always a good idea for long-term planning.
Week 1
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest work and test prep; test
- Begin reading Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Building academic vocabulary and knowledge to set up a successful year of literature exploration
- Excerpts from How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
- Lit terms list
- Reading journal instruction
- Introduce Inquiry Project
- AP recommended reading list
- Guide for Western literature
- Postmodernism work
- SH-5 discussions/work/assessment
- Night by Wiesel
- Inquiry Project proposals due
- Lit terms list
- Short stories for all students’ reading
- Jackson’s “The Lottery”
- Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”
- Faulkner’s “The Barn Burning”
- Poe’s “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”
- Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”
- Freeman’s “A New England Nun”
- O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
- Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland”
- Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”
- Fitzgerald’s “A Diamond As Big As the Ritz”
- Gillman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
- Others as time allows
- Short story personal project
- Lit terms list
- AP test prep: Question 2
- Ancient Greek theater study
- Reading of Oedipus The King and Antigone
- Individual conferences/presentations
- Hamlet reading
- Our Town reading
- A Doll’s House reading
- Assessments
- Reading journals throughout
- Lit terms list throughout
- Review for finals week
- AP mock exam
Christmas Break Reading: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Semester Two (Projected) Outline
Week 1
- Frankenstein study and assessment
- Lit terms list
- Reading journal
- Inquiry research time
- Lit terms list
- Reading journals
- In-class modeling of poetry discussion/study
- Themed sections: about love, about death, voice, tone, imagery
- Annotation work
- Poetry presentation projects
- AP mock test
- Reading of Wuthering Heights on your own
- Bronte history
- Wuthering Heights background
- Discussion/study of Wuthering Heights
- Reading journals
- Lit terms list
- Assessment of Wuthering Heights
- Inquiry project work time
- Lit terms list
- Reading journals
- Self-assessment paper
- Micro fiction study
- Lit terms list
- Reading journals
- Micro fiction writing
- Lit terms list
- Reading journals
- Review as needed
- Inquiry project presentations
- AP mock test
- Inquiry project presentations
- AP mock test
- Inquiry project presentations
- AP mock test
Letters of Recommendation
I am willing to help you with your college planning process in any way I can. Most colleges and scholarship boards require letters of recommendation from non-relative individuals. I’m happy to write a letter for you so long as you give me plenty of notice and the appropriate materials so I can draft the best recommendation possible. The requirements are as follows:
- You ask me in person if I will write “an excellent letter of recommendation” for you. If you simply ask me to write a letter without some kind of preface, I may write a letter that you may see as “less-than-stellar”.
- You give me no less than a week to write the letter.
- You provide me with a full resume.
- You provide the prompt for the application/letter. Some scholarships depend on knowledge of a specific area, financial need, etc. If I know these in advance, I can write a more appropriately focused letter.
College Essays
I am also willing to help you with college essays. Again, you must plan ahead here. Most essays require three to four drafts for the best possible outcome. Keep in mind while writing these essays that admissions boards and scholarship boards read hundreds of essays: how can you make your essay stand out among the rest? Also, always keep the essay within the length requirements as directed.
Classroom Rule
Be appropriate at all times.