AP English IV Syllabus First Semester

Week 1: 

Introductory handouts; AP letter; Internet assignment, which will inform you of the credit-by-exam policy of a college or university you are considering…print it.  Read A Jury of Her Peers (1149-60) from AP text.  Handouts:  “How Do I Get an A in This Class?”, How to Sound Smart Word List, Essay Grading Rubric.  Read Ch. 33 (p. 1826--)  from Critical Approaches to Literature; from texts  MC test, timed @20 minutes; this will be graded.  Internet assignment due.  Turn in the two annotated texts from Summer Reading assignment due on Tuesday, August 25.

Week 2: 

Sample AP essay based on summer reading, timed; this, too, will be graded.  You may use your annotated text.   Peer editing groups, working on Monday’s essay.  Group dynamics activity.    Introduction to short story genre and elements.  Read  and discuss.    Read A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner.  Point of View.  Personal Statement (a.k.a.  the College Essay) handout and information.  Due date TBA.  Secure a college application that requires an essay.  You will use this for the class assignment.  Continue with short stories:  Paul’s Case by Willa Cather.  Character.  Setting.  

Week 3-4: 

.Introduction to college essay…personal statement.  Listen to comments from a college admissions essay reader.  Brainstorm for ideas common to these essays.  Prepare notes for a possible paper.  The Seven-Second Solution.  A look at some real essays.  Prepare a first draft.

Read Barn Burning by William Faulkner.  Tone  Read and discuss Araby  by James Joyce.  Poster assignment.  Irony  Read and discuss I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen.  Symbol.  Read and discuss A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor.  Theme.  The Horse Dealer’s Daughter. Short Story Test, including objective section and essay demonstrating students’ understanding and insight of three of the major elements using a short story they have not previously dealt with.  It is expected that they support their theses with copious notes from the text, tying them to the text.

Week 5.

Writing workshops with a little help from our friends.  Prepare a 2^nd draft.  “Clock the papers.”  1. (See attachment from Michael Degen.)  Final draft due on Monday.

Week 6-7. 

Applying critical approaches to literature.  BRING YOUR COPY OF The Metamorphosis TO CLASS EACH DAY.  Critical approaches to literature.  (specifically:  formalist, archetypal, psychological, and sociological) There is a research component to this assignment.  Close reading of Part I.  Concentrate on structure.  Read Part II.  Diction and symbolism.  Read Part III.  You will be assigned a particular approach, and then you will form a group with three others and analyze this work according to what you have learned from your study of the approach.  You will decide among the members of the group the best way to deliver the information you have learned to the whole class via a Powerpoint presentation, which is due on Wednesday.  How do diction, structure, etc. support your approach?  Concentrating on theme and on point of view and tone.    Finish discussion of the story as needed.  Prepare 15 thoughtful questions and their answers for a Socratic Seminar, and type them.  These will be turned in on the day of the seminar.  Use class time to polish Powerpoint presentation.  Presentations of Critical Approaches.  Socratic Seminar.  AP Multiple Choice test, to be timed and graded.

Weeks 8-9.

Introduction to Grendel with notes from Powerpoint on philosophy and “isms”.  Read 2 chapters per night.  Notes on circumference, monsters, fate, and time.  Download the Stromme article “The Twelve Chapters of Grendel.”  The necessary monster.  In-class essay on Chapters 1-6, addressing the thesis Gardner expresses concerning the meaningless existence that leads to pain and violence.  Women in Grendel.  The Shaper vs. The Christian Poet  The matter of Unferth  In-class  comparison/contrast essay on Ch. 7-12 . 

Week 10.

Assignment of  A Dollhouse .  Handouts with introduction and pertinent notes.  This is to be read while we study poetry, which will be read, for the most part, in class.  Introduction to long-term poetry assignment.  List of poetry terms to be learned, not memorized.  Meeting poetry pp. 599-606.  How to read a poem.  Writing a paraphrase of a poem.  (pp.  616-618)  Writing an explication of a poem.  (pp.618-622).  What is the difference?  Characters, speakers and setting, point of view.  (pp. 623-653)  Essential analysis questions on pp.  648-649.

Week 11.

Diction.  Connotation/denotation. Syntax.   Connotation/denotation exercise. (. Pp. 654-679) HW:  Write a one-page paper on a pair of similar words with different connotations in the manner of the sample from class.  Due tomorrow.   Imagery.  (pp. 681-705)  Writing about imagery.  Test on A Dollhouse.

Week 12.

 Rhetorical figures.   (pp. 706-736)  Simile/metaphor, paradox, anaphora, apostrophe, personification, synecdoche/metonymy, synthesthesia, overstatement (hyperbole)/understatement,

Week 13.

In-class essay on A Dollhouse.   This essay is a requires an explication of one two poems and then a synthesis of something one of  the poems to some aspect of the play.  Tone/Irony (situational, dramatic, verbal)/ Satire.    (pp.  737-764)  Prosody:  Sound, rhythm, and rhyme.  (pp.  765-810)  MC quiz on poetry.

Week 14.

In-class, AP-style essay on an older poem and a more modern one that contains an allusion to the first, considering tone and style.   [Issue copies of Light in August by Faulkner.  Again, this will be read at home.  Introduction to the novel.]  Form:  The shape of the poem.  (pp.  811-851) closed/open forms, blank verse/ couplet, tercet, quatrain, sonnets, ballad, ode, haiku

Wednesday-Friday:  Happy Thanksgiving.

Week 15.

Poetry terms test.  First Light in August  paper  on Faulkner’s use of setting due.  :  Symbolism and allusion.   (pp.  852-880)  Cultural, contextual, allusions.  Major objective test on Light in August.

Week 16.

In-class essay comparing two poems on the same topic.  Myth:  systems of symbolic allusion in poetry.  (pp. 881-910)  Myth, science, belief, power of myth, myth as concept and perspective  2^nd Light in August  paper on structure of novel due.  Meaning:  Idea and theme in poetry.  (p. 911-941)  idea, theme, motif, meaning, speaker, character, setting, and action, diction, imagery and rhetorical figures, tone, prosody, structure and form.  They all work together.  3^rd Light in August  paper on theme due. 

Week 17.

Dead Week.

 Final exams.

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English IV Daily Syllabus First Semester 2009-10

Week 1. 

Monday- Tuesday:  Introduction to the course.  Meet and greet activity.  Forms completed.  Internet assignment re: college.

Wednesday:  Film critical analysis and rubric handout and explanation.  Introduction to classmates.  Textbooks should have been checked out by the end of this week.

Thursday:    Obtain a copy of a college application.  If it has no essay requirement, use one prompt from the Texas Common Application for 2008-09.  (This is probably available on line.)

Friday:  Brainstorm and collaborate about personal statement/college essay.  First draft due _____9/11___.

Week 2. 

Monday -Tuesday:  Read Trifles in class.  Bring a trifle to class tomorrow.

Write two one-page explanations of your trifle, one true and one false. 

Wednesday:  Choose a partner. Read your versions to each other.  Guess as the veracity of each.  Extra points if you fool your partner.  Turn in papers.

Thursday:  Work on draft of college essay.

Friday: 

Week 3.

Monday: No School.  Labor Day Holiday.

Tuesday:  Revising and editing of draft of personal statement.  First draft of college essay is due _____9/11_____, typed.

Tuesday:  Introduction to the Anglo-Saxon era and Beowulf.  Bring your text to class each day.

Wednesday:  Read section 1 of Beowulf.  Discuss.  Final draft of college essay due.

Thursday:  “College review board meets.”

Friday:  Read next section of Beowulf.  Finish Beowulf.

Week 4. 

Monday - Tuesday:  Old English riddles, ballads, elegies.

Wednesday:  Review for unit test.

Thursday:  Old English and Beowulf test.

Friday:  Senior Credit checks.

Week 5.

Monday:  Writing assignment for original epic poem.  1^st independent film review is due next week on________9/28_.  Follow directions and have fun.

Monday- Thursday:  Study of Becket in preparation for The Canterbury Tales.  (Epic poem due on Thursday, 9/24.)

Friday:  Test on film.  Collect study guides.

Week 6.

Monday:   Introduction to satire.  Handout. Analysis of political cartoons and satirical article.  Satire assignment.  Due _10/2._.

Tuesday:  Class to computer lab for Scavenger Hunt re: Middle Ages.  Assignment due at the end of the period.

Wednesday-Friday:  Begin study of The Canterbury Tales.  Bring your study guide and your text to class each day.  Vocabulary study and examination of the may of trip to Canterbury.  Read Middle English version of introduction of the Prologue.  End of first six weeks.

Week 7.

Monday:  .

Tuesday:  The Knight, the Squire, the Yeoman

Wednesday:  The Nun, the Monk, the Friar.  Discussion of vows of poverty, chastity, obedience as they pertain to these three characters.

Thursday:  The Merchant, the Oxford Cleric, the Lawyer, the Franklin, the Guildsmen, the Cook.  Be sure to fill in the Name That Pilgrim sheets as we go along.

Friday:  The Parson, the Plowman, the Miller

Week 8.

Monday:  The Manciple, the Reeve, the Summoner, and the Pardoner.

Tuesday:  Name That Pilgrim quiz.  Prepare for major test on Thursday.

Wednesday:  Writing Workshop.  Begin The Canterbury Tales essay.

Thursday:  Unit test.

Friday:  Revision and peer editing of essay, which is due on Monday.  This must be typed.

Week 9.

Monday:  No School.  Student holiday.

Tuesday:  Introduction to Macbeth.  Archetypal Aristotelian tragic hero information, locations important to this play.  Act I scenes 1-4.  Complete study guide as we read.  There will be a new “cast” for each act.

Wednesday:  Scavenger Hunt in computer lab.  This is due at the end of the period.

Thursday:  Canterbury Tales essay due.  Scenes 5-7. 

Friday:  Quiz on Act I.  Begin Act II, scene 1.

 Read extra credit assignment from p. 16 of study guide.  Work on plot outline from pp. 17-18 of study guide.  Plot out the play so far.  Discussion of symbols:  time, prophecy, darkness.  Act II scenes 2-3.

Week 10.

Monday:  Finish Act II.  Complete study guide.  Continue with plot outline on pp. 17-18 of study guide. 

Tuesday:  Quiz on Act II.  This will also include the vocabulary from the study guide.

Wednesday-Thursday:  Begin Act III.  Discuss the Porter’s scene and its purpose, the various allusions.  Scenes 1-4, especially the banquet scene.  Complete study guide as we go. 2^nd independent film review is due.

Friday:  Vocabulary test from Macbeth.

Week 11.

Monday:  Finish Act III, scenes 5-6.  Return to plot outline pp. 17-18 of study guide.

Tuesday:  Act III quiz.  Begin Act IV, scenes 1-2.  Complete study guide for these scenes and page 19.

Wednesday:  Finish Act IV, scene 3.  Move on to Act V, scene1 and complete p. 20 of the study guide.  (“Out, damned spot.”)

Thursday- Friday.  Quiz on Act IV.  Finish Act V, scenes 2-8.  Finish question in study guide.  Prepare to take quiz on Act V on Monday.  The extra credit recitation is due on Tuesday, 11/3.  End of second six weeks.

     Week 12.

Monday:  No School for Students.  Veterans’ Day.

Tuesday:  Finish and turn in essay.  Finish symbols from p.4 and take Quiz on Act V.  Any recitations will be given.  Short writing assignment given

Wednesday:  Begin WebQuest on Macbeth.  Handouts and instructions.  Formation of groups for individual topics.

Tuesday-Friday:  Work in library computer lab on their WebQuest, which is due on Monday, 11/16.

Week 13.

Monday-Tuesday:  Begin Sonnet unit.  Introduction to terminology associated with sonnets.  Worksheet on syllabication in preparation for your original sonnet. 

Wednesday-Friday:  Thanksgiving Vacation.  Bon Appetit!!

Week 14.

Monday-Thursday:  3^rd film review is due on Tuesday, typed .  Establish groups of four to study the following sonnets from your literature book on pp. 211, 221, 233, 234, 251, 252, 254, 255, 425, 732, 748, 796, 799, 818, 967, 969.  Students are required to turn in analyses for four of these.  Work within your groups on these.

Friday:  All WebQuest PowerPoint projects are due and to be shown to class.  These will be graded according to the rubric you were given. 

Week 16.

Monday-Thursday:  Dead Week. 

Week 17.

Final Exams.