AP English Literature Syllabus
Ms. McNair
Butler High School
E-mail:
Webpage: http://mcnair.cmswiki.wikispaces.net
Senior year is a very exciting and important time in your life. First, it marks the culmination of your high school career. Secondly, not only will the grades that you receive this year affect your overall GPA, but the credits you earn will allow you to fulfill your graduation requirements!! Be careful to not catch an early case of “senioritis”!
AP Curriculum Overview:
Text: Literature:Structure, Sound, and Sense Laurence Perrine. Students will be assigned textbooks.
I.Poetry: The following works are a sample studied in this course for purposes of analysis, interpretation, application of literary devices and synthesis. Methods include explication and paraphrasing, classroom discussions, quizzes, essays, and tests.
William Wordsworth: The World is Too Much With Us
Emily Dickinson: A Narrow Fellow in the Grass
John Keats: Odes on a Grecian Urn and Ode to a Nightingale
Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ozymandias
Robert Browning: My Last Duchess
Matthew Arnold: Dover Beach
Gwendolyn Brooks: We Real Cool
A.E. Housman: To an Athlete Dying Young
Edward Arlington Robinson: Richard Cory
Dylan Thomas: Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
William Butler Yeats: The Second Coming
Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Stephen King: For Owen
II. Short Stories: The following short stories represent some of the selections in this course, with the purpose of exploring the elements of fiction such as interpretation, character, theme, point of view, symbolism, and irony. Methods include analysis through class instruction and discussion, journals, essays, quizzes, and tests.
Thomas Wolfe: The Child By Tiger
Alice Walker: Everyday Use
Katherine Mansfield Miss Brill
Ernest Hemingway: Hills Like White Elephants
Albert Camus: The Guest
Flannery O’Connor: Good Country People
Nathaniel Hawthorne: Young Goodman Brown
Shirley Jackson: The Lottery
Herman Melville: Bartleby the Scrivener
Joyce Carol Oates: Life After High School Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Willa Cather: Paul’s Case
William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily
Laura Brodie’s Spiderman Summer
III. Novels: The following novels in this course to develop an extensive awareness of the tone, syntax, and diction of both classic and contemporary authors. Methods include classroom discussion, study questions, essays, quizzes, tests, and major papers. These are supplement texts.
Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights
Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
Robert Lois Stevenson: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Bram Stoker: Dracula
IV. Plays: The following plays are studied in this course for purposes of determining characteristics of tragedy, comedy, and drama. Students will also engage in the study of tone, mood, syntax, and diction of various and determine style as well. Methods classroom discussion, varied writing assignments, paraphrasing, and oral participation.
William Shakespeare: Macbeth
William Shakespeare: Hamlet
Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest
Grading, Homework and Late Work Policy:
Students will be assessed in various manners throughout the semester, individually, and as an active member of a group. Students should expect to earn credit on a daily basis and should study nightly to retain information covered in class.
Grades for the course come from the following: And, of course, the CMS Grading Scale is as follows:
Class assignments (including participation and discussions) A: 93-100
Tests B: 92-85
Quizzes (announced and unannounced) C: 84-77
Homework D: 76-70
Poetry Explications F: Below 70
Essays
All homework/assignments will be due at the beginning of the class period or as designated by the teacher. Students may submit work for up to 3 days following the due date for the assignment for numerical credit. Late work will be penalized 10 points per day and after the third day; late work will not be accepted for numerical credit. However, late work will be recorded, and checked for feedback.
Plagiarism/Malpractice:
I occasionally receive work that is obviously not of the student. At BHS we consider this a very serious matter indeed; CMS has a clear policy on plagiarism outlined in the Student Handbook. Accepted policy is that if another student uses another’s work without proper referencing, he/she is guilty of malpractice. All written work is to be the student’s own. This means that a student may not “borrow” another’s paper, alter a few words/phrases and expect credit. Evidence of this will result in an automatic zero to BOTH parties. This also includes “glancing” at another student’s test or quiz during class time – bottom line – do your own work! J
Attendance/Tardy Policy:
Students will follow the guidelines set forth by CMS concerning attendance (more than 10 absences, excused or unexcused, will require Recovery). Failure to meet the attendance requirements could result in failure of the course. Regular attendance is of prime importance for academic success especially since this course follows the A/B Day schedule. Obviously, some absences are unavoidable, but it would be in everyone’s best interests to be in class every day. BE ON TIME TO CLASS!! That means in your seat when the tardy bell rings. Students will receive ASD after their second tardy to class. Have I mentioned you shouldn’t be late!?!?!!?
If you are absent, IT IS THE STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO GET THE MAKE-UP WORK FROM THE TEACHER, A PEER, OR THE WEBSITE!! Please don’t ask for your assignments when we are trying to begin class as that is disruptive to everyone else’s learning. Either see me before school, after school, or when we are working independently. Students will have 5 days following an absence to make up any missed work. Failure to see me for your assignments within the 5 day period will result in a failing grade for the missing work. I will not remind you to pick up your assignments.
Graduation Project:
One of the most important undertakings that you must complete this semester will be the product, presentation, and portfolio parts of your graduation project. As most of you know, the graduation project has four components: a paper which you completed during your junior year, a product that requires a minimum of fifteen hours of work, an oral presentation before a joint faculty/community committee, and a portfolio, which will include a personal resume, an outline of your presentation, two reflections, and a letter to the board introducing yourself and your topic and showing the relationship between your research and your product and the “academic stretch” that you achieved while completing the product. AP students will present Graduation Projects to the Board during the fall semester.
Basic Expectations:
I expect my students to be scholars, thinkers, and young adults. Students must hold themselves to that standard by being ready to turn in homework, actively participating, staying on top of assigned readings, respecting me and other students, using mature, intelligent language when speaking and writing (no “text message” writing or “informal” talk while participating), and staying alert and focused (i.e. no heads down on desks). I am the final say so in my classroom. I will, however, discuss any questions or concerns you may have outside of class in an appropriate manner.
Bathroom/Water:
Please use the bathroom and get water on your own time between classes, and do not expect to be granted breaks during class. Obviously, there are emergencies and health issues that will be taken into consideration.
AP Exams:
In July 2013 CMS agreed to pay the exam fee for all students enrolled in AP courses. That means that students enrolled in AP Literature are REQUIRED to take the AP exam in May. Additional information regarding AP exams can be found under the Advanced Studies page on the CMS website.
Note to the Parents/Guardians:
Education involves not only the students and the teacher, but you, as parents/guardians, share in this process and are an important link in the chain. I like to work as a team to ensure your student’s success in this class. Hopefully, the information given in this prospectus will clarify some of the policies for the class and will enable you to share more fully in the learning experiences of your son/daughter.
My preferred method of communication with you is through email. You can contact me at . Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have as they arise. I am here to help ensure your student’s success.
In addition, please utilize PowerSchool to keep up to date with your child’s grades and attendance. Login information was sent with students in homeroom during the first week of school. You can also find helpful information on the CMS website.
Please fill out the bottom portion of this page and return it to school with your son or daughter for his/her first homework assignment.
I look forward to working with each of you this year. J
Ms. McNair’s Student/Parent Information Sheet and Syllabus Acknowledgement
AP Literature 2013-2014
PLEASE PRINT ALL INFORMATION VERY CLEARLY AND RETURN TO MS. MCNAIR!!!
Student’s Name: ______
Student ID Number: ______
Parent/Guardian Name(s): ______
Parent/Guardian Email Address: ______
Parent/Guardian Phone Number (during the day): ______
I, ______, have read and understand Ms. McNair’s syllabus
(print student name)
for AP Literature and have discussed this information with my parent/guardian. We hereby affirm that we agree to all terms and conditions therein. We further agree to abide by the rules of the classroom, CMS, and common sense and to notify the teacher should we find we are having any difficulties with anything whatsoever.
Student Signature: ______
Parent/Guardian Signature: ______