Course Description
Major Concepts/Content: This is a college level class that
ultimately prepares students for the Advanced Placement exam in May. In
addition, it provides students with other skills associated with the most
advanced classes in high school English, including research skills. When they
have completed the class, students will have acquired the reading and critical
thinking skills necessary for understanding challenging new material, analyzing
that material to deduce meaning, and applying what they have learned to our
world. They will have the composition skills needed to communicate their
understanding effectively to a variety of audiences. Students will read and
analyze classic works of literature because these works contain literary
qualities that merit study and provoke thinking, not because of a requirement to
know a particular work or author. They will also look at modern and contemporary
works as they examine all genres: plays, short stories, poetry, essays, and
novels.
Students will learn to apply critical literary terms as tools for learning,
understanding, and communication. Learning activities include close reading,
paraphrasing, discussions, essays, short answer exams, research papers,
reflective journals, web quests, oral presentations, and others. The unit
structure below identifies the main headings of the units only. Most units will
include a combination of genres and activities. The structure to the class is
not based upon a sequence of chronology, national origin, or genres. It is
instead based upon the sequence that best supports the learning needs of the
student.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of AP English Literature and Composition, students should be
able to:
Learn a personal and collective process for making meaning of a literary
work, connect this meaning to other pieces of literature, and recognize the
commonality of the human experience as expressed through literature.
ultimately prepares students for the Advanced Placement exam in May. In
addition, it provides students with other skills associated with the most
advanced classes in high school English, including research skills. When they
have completed the class, students will have acquired the reading and critical
thinking skills necessary for understanding challenging new material, analyzing
that material to deduce meaning, and applying what they have learned to our
world. They will have the composition skills needed to communicate their
understanding effectively to a variety of audiences. Students will read and
analyze classic works of literature because these works contain literary
qualities that merit study and provoke thinking, not because of a requirement to
know a particular work or author. They will also look at modern and contemporary
works as they examine all genres: plays, short stories, poetry, essays, and
novels.
Students will learn to apply critical literary terms as tools for learning,
understanding, and communication. Learning activities include close reading,
paraphrasing, discussions, essays, short answer exams, research papers,
reflective journals, web quests, oral presentations, and others. The unit
structure below identifies the main headings of the units only. Most units will
include a combination of genres and activities. The structure to the class is
not based upon a sequence of chronology, national origin, or genres. It is
instead based upon the sequence that best supports the learning needs of the
student.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of AP English Literature and Composition, students should be
able to:
Learn a personal and collective process for making meaning of a literary
work, connect this meaning to other pieces of literature, and recognize the
commonality of the human experience as expressed through literature.
- Apply the language and vocabulary of the discipline to explain their
understanding and interpretation of a literary work. - Recognize the environmental and historical values manifested in a piece of
literature. - Identify and explain the use of literary devices and elements in a piece of
literature. - Actively participate in group discussions and critique writings about
literature. - Apply the writing process to interpret, experience, and evaluate literary
works leading to the development of “stylistic maturity.”