Course Syllabus - AP English Language and Composition
20013- 2014
“Students who practice specific skills by analyzing complex texts—who learn grammar in combination with reading and writing—who learn actively and express themselves freely—who routinely think critically—will most likely become highly competent adults whose high level of expertise in language will open many doors.”
AP Strategies, Inc.
Marilyn Hagans - Room N-133
Phone: # 281-920-8000
Email:
* Tutorials are offered during the first 20 minutes of lunch and after school on Wednesdays, 3:30 – 4:00 and by appointment. Make-up work is your responsibility – not mine. It is your responsibility to schedule make-up times for quizzes and tests.
Course Description Highlights as provided from CollegeBoard:
The AP English Language and Composition course engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.
In addition to the CollegeBoard description I strive to teach students to read primary and secondary sources carefully in order to meld sources into their own compositions and discussions. We live in a media-rich society. Students will also study the rhetoric of visual media: photographs, film, ads, political cartoons, contemporary videos.
Incorporating the state English III TEKS as well as other critical reading and thinking skills, AP English Language and Composition students will:
· Learn to sustain discussion of topics in language and American culture and frame cogent arguments in debates about current issues and American literature.
· Learn to respond personally and reflectively to a range of literature, focusing primarily on American literature. They will learn to independently analyze, summarize, and interpret the works they encounter, expressing their responses in creative and expository writing.
· Learn to research within an area of inquiry and publish essays of personal interest for a variety of audiences. They will master a writing process and will develop the knowledge and strategies needed for editing their own and others’ work in peer critiques.
· Recognize the cultural context of language, both past and present, especially understanding the various conventions within language that reflect that context.
· Apply their writing, speaking, reading, and listening skills in completing independent and group projects within their areas of inquiry.
· Gain familiarity with the types of questions and expectations for answers on the AP Language and Composition Exam.
· Expand vocabulary to better equip the student to communicate orally and in written form at a higher level.
English Department Policies:
· RETAKE POLICY IS STATED IN THE WESTSIDE WAY AND WILL BE FOLLOWED. NO RETAKE OPPORTUNITY WILL BE GIVEN FOR THE SUMMER READING ASSESSMENTS.
· Plagiarism will result in a grade of “0” or double “0” for all involved on that particular assignment.
· Students are required to submit assignments in standard blue or black ink only or typed as instructed.
· IF ANY CHANGES ARE MADE TO THESE POLICIES, STUDENTS WILL BE NOTIFIED.
Supplies:
· Standard blue or black ink pens, not felt or marker-type, and #2 pencils and good erasers
· College-ruled loose leaf notebook paper – No spiral-edged papers will be accepted. TRIM OFF THE EDGES BEFORE TURNING IN YOUR WORK. Only the standard sized paper is acceptable.
· One Composition Book – spiral – the 70 page size is sufficient in college rule lines
· Three highlighters of different colors. Bright colors are preferred, but not mandatory.
· One 3” three ring binder which will be exclusively dedicated to the year-long synthesis binder project
· 3”x5” index cards – 50 should be sufficient
· Metal binder ring – I will buy a supply of these and offer them to students for 25 cents. These are usually only sold in larger amounts and each student only needs one. If you prefer, please purchase this on your own.
· Space reserved in a 3-ring binder or pocket folder with organizational tabs to maintain English materials effectively for daily use
Required textbook/s and outside reading books as they are announced. An Amazon link will be created for your convenience as the year progresses. Adequate time will be allowed for students to secure outside books. While students may obtain books from most libraries, close reading strategies are best developed when the student is able to mark in his own personal copy. Books can be obtained by purchasing them (often at a discount through school orders), borrowing them from the library, or some are even free online:
www.pagebypagebooks.com/title.html
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
Grading Policies: This policy is subject to change and if changed, will be noticed sufficiently to students.
Grades will be distributed in three categories:
1. Minor grades including daily work, homework, and discussion participation will have a 20% allocation for your grade.
2. Quizzes and class work will comprise 30%.
3. Major grades, including tests, essays, and projects, will comprise 50% of your grade, but they may have components that will be assigned separate grades. For example, an essay and an objective test may be combined as one major grade.
4. Common curriculum team assessments will be supplemented with other grades in this class by me.
5. This grade breakout is one adapted by the AP Lang and Comp Collaborative Group and has been approved by Westside administration.
Lesson Plans: As our classroom is a living entity, my lesson plans as posted are subject to modification to meet the class progression. However, I will make every attempt to adhere to what is posted for parent and student viewing. Lesson plans are accessible from the Westside Wolves home page.
Classroom Policies:
In addition to Westside and North One policies, the following will be enforced in Room N-133. Failure to comply may result in referrals for discipline and/or teacher assigned detention. Before all else, IDs must be visible at all times for entry into the classroom. AP students are held to a higher standard as pertaining to following instructions as given. You will wear your ID in a position visible to me at first sight, or you will be sent out of the room until you do so. This is an issue of safety. After a brief period of time, I will know you on sight; that does not mean that other teachers and staff will. Our campus is huge and open! For your safety and mine, I am rigid on this point. Just wear it! It’s not a fashion statement; it’s your job as a student at Westside and as a student in my class.
· All cell phones and electronic devices must either be turned off and out of sight in your backpack or purse OR be turned off and placed in the upper right hand corner of your desk. If your phone rings or buzzes, it will be taken up and turned into the front office as outlined in the Westside Way.
· DRESS CODE will be enforced in N133.
· Come to class prepared. Borrowed materials from me will require collateral from the student which will be returned upon the return of class property.
· WATER ONLY will be allowed in the classroom and this must be in a transparent bottle and is subject to review if and when I feel circumstances warrant it.
· Put your backpack under your chair – clear the aisles.
· Be in your seat, quietly ready to begin class with class materials before the tardy bell rings. Be ready; WE WILL WORK FROM BELL TO BELL.
· Silence is required when announcements come over the PA.
· Homework is due at the beginning of class. Please don’t put me in the position of placing you before someone else by allowing you extra time in class to complete homework which another student turned in as required at the beginning of class.
· Personal grooming in class is unacceptable. Visible makeup and hygiene products will be taken if found/used in class.
· Keep all work unless instructed to do otherwise. Without your assignments, I will not address grade disputes.
· If I provide you with a handout with “holes,” KEEP IT in your binder as a resource or for future use.
· If extra credit is provided, it will be done so on a class, not individual, basis.
· It is the student’s responsibility to obtain his/her make-up assignments the next day he or she is at school. Check the stack files for handouts. Class time will not be used for individual conferences. You may see me at the beginning of lunch or after school. I will not infringe on another teacher’s time by keeping you after class.
· Assignments and assessments not completed due to excused absences will be made up the next day back. Major assignments may be assessed a late percentage. We cannot recreate a group or project presentation, class debate, seminar discussion, etc. If you miss class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to get your work turned in when due.
· Derogatory or negative comments directed at another student or to me will not be tolerated. Ours is a safe, friendly classroom.
· Crude or inappropriate language will not be tolerated.
· Manners WILL be exercised in this room.
I am looking forward to a great year working with you! You have finally made it to AP. It’s an amazing opportunity…make it work for you!
M. Hagans
AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Room N-133
I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED, READ, AND UNDERSTOOD ALL ASPECTS OF THE COURSE SYLLABUS FOR MRS. HAGANS’S AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION COURSE. WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO HONOR AND RESPECT ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS.
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