A.P.

Literature and Composition

Mr. Oldham
Room 400
Course Description: My “vision” of this course is that it be one where students are involved
in work which requires significant thought and reflection. All technical “skills” will be taught in the
context of such work.

Through the close reading and critical analysis of literature this course should “prepare” you for
the A.P. exam in May. A second goal but perhaps even more important is through those same
activities of close reading and critical analysis this course should encourage you to become more
thoughtful, reflective, and wiser human beings.

Texts and Materials: Students will be expected to have appropriate text and materials with
him/her at the beginning of class everyday.
Oedipus –Sophocles Inferno – Dante
Hamlet – William Shakespeare The Canterbury Tales- Chaucer
The Stranger –Albert Camus A Poetry Handbook- Oliver
The River Why –David James Duncan
Writers Inc. (as reference)

There will be additional reading assigned beyond this list. It is the studentʼs responsibility to
secure these additional texts.

Policies:

Grades and Evaluation:

The grade you receive on each assignment, for each exam, for each quarter, for each semester is
the carefully deliberated and derived judgment and opinion of one fallible human being who has a
certain amount of knowledge and training. I have made every effort to make sure that your grade
is based on clear standards and criteria and not on my personal feelings and opinions of you as a
person. If you ever have a question concerning your grade please make an appointment with me
so we may sit down and discuss your concerns and questions. Below are the general standards I
use when evaluating student work and performance.

A -- Work in this category is consistently outstanding and shows a unique and distinctive
mastery of the material as well as building upon that material independent of course requirement.

B -- Work in this category is consistently strong and shows an independent understanding of

the material as well as clearly articulating that understanding in new and unfamiliar situations.

C -- Work in this category is consistently adequate and repeats what was taught and discussed
in a superficial manner as well as meeting minimum course requirements.

D -- Work in this category is consistently inadequate, incomplete, and shows little

comprehension of the material.
Absences and Tardies:

-Please try to be here on time for every class. It is important.....for you and me.

-It is always your responsibility to know what weʼre doing in class, what is due, and when it is
due.

-In most cases comprehensive assignments are due when you return to school. (Unless prior
arrangements have been made, major assignments, projects, and tests are due if you are in
school...even if you miss class.)

-Quizzes and exams must be taken the day you return unless youʼve made prior arrangements
with me. I will not be flexible on this one.

-In-class work, daily assignments, and discussions must be made-up within the time frame you
were gone. Please fill out make-up sheets and turn them in to me so I have a record that youʼve
made-up for any missed days.

On my part you will never be required to do any work for my class during Christmas or Spring
break and I make every effort to avoid assigning homework over Thanksgiving and Easter. I also
make every effort to minimize busy work. (Because of this years odd schedule Thanksgiving may
be an exception)

60% of each quarter grade is “Comprehensive Work”

This category includes projects, exams, and papers. The major elements of this category are
explained below. All major papers and projects (unless stated otherwise) should be formatted in
the following manner:

-Follow MLA guidelines for citations and format

-Include a title that reflects your essayʼs content
-Typed, double spaced, 12 pt. standard font, black ink, and 1 inch margins
-Include all draftwork unless otherwise stated

In-Class Analysis
These are timed, in-class essays. There will be several each quarter. We will cover throughout
the year different strategies to improve the structure, vocabulary, and syntax of timed writing. In
the space of forty minutes you will be expected to construct a critical analysis of a work of
literature where you address both what the work means and how effectively it uses tone, diction,
detail, point of view, organization, and syntax to create that meaning. I will be borrowing
questions from past A.P. exams and you will be asked to apply that question to a novel we have
studied. These pieces will be evaluated by the same criteria as used by A.P. graders.
Revisions & Final Drafts
These essays will be evaluated by the following criteria:
-shows originality and independence of thought
-exhibits clarity in expression, development and organization through use of sophisticated and
appropriate vocabulary and syntax
-remains error free
-expresses your ideas in an engaging and confident style through a voice established and
sustained
-supports its claims with reason and specific examples as well as direct quotes from the text.
-uses language and terms of literary analysis
-shows a clear and marked improvement over the original
- includes the initial work, peer reviews and teacher comments with the final draft

Midterm Exams
Each quarter you will have a comprehensive midterm examination. These exams will consist of
multiple choice questions related to the works studied, short answer quote identification, a short
prose analysis related to the quarterʼs theme, and an essay where you are asked to evaluate how
well the works address the theme

Major Projects and Papers

These will be explained and handed out in a timely fashion

40% of each quarter grade is “Daily Work”

This category includes discussions, in-class participation, seminars, annotations, and occasional
smaller assignments. The major elements of this category are explained below.

Annotation
For each text we read you are asked to “dialogue” with yourself, the author, and the issues and
ideas at stake. This is the practice of physically marking the text as you are reading. Your
“marginalia” or “notations” will be evaluated when we finish a text. I will collect your text and
evaluate it for evidence that your reading of the text was “active”. Thoroughness and being
specific are two indications of “active” reading. Below are some other suggestions:

From start to finish, make your reading of any text thinking-intensive.

1. First of all: throw away the highlighter in favor of a pen or pencil. Highlighting can actually
distract from the business of learning and dilute your comprehension. It only seems like an active
reading strategy; in actual fact, it can lull you into a dangerous passivity.

2. Underlining or bracketing important quotes is a good place to start. However, I would also like
you to mark up the margins of your text with WORDS: ideas that occur to you, notes about things
that seem important to you, reminders of how issues in a text may connect with class discussion
or course themes. This kind of interaction keeps you conscious of the REASON you are reading
and the PURPOSES your instructor has in mind. Later in the term, when you are reviewing for a
test or project, your marginalia will be useful memory triggers.

3. Develop your own symbol system: asterisk a key idea, for example, or use an exclamation
point for the surprising, absurd, bizarre . . .. Like your marginalia, your hieroglyphs can help you
reconstruct the important observations that you made at an earlier time. And they will be
indispensable when you return to a text later in the term, in search of a passage, an idea for a
topic, or while preparing for an exam or project.
4. Get in the habit of hearing yourself ask questions—“what does this mean?” “why is he or she
drawing that conclusion?” “why is the class reading this text?” etc. Write the questions down (in
your margins, at the beginning or end of the reading, in a notebook, or elsewhere). They are
reminders of the unfinished business you still have with a text: something to ask during class
discussion, or to come to terms with on your own, once youʼve had a chance to digest the
material further, or have done further reading.

Discussions
The point behind discussions is to engage you the student beyond a vague, impressionistic
understanding of texts and ideas. By listening and talking during the discussion your mind
undergoes transformation and you are able to arrive at a clearer understating. To do this I ask
questions and attempt to elicit answers. Not THE answer but rather possibilities. Sometimes
what you bring up will initiate a tangent or cause me to veer toward a point of clarification. It
really is a give and take and we only go where you as a class direct me. If you sit there like a
chorus of toads staring at me and mimicking what spark notes said then weʼll all be bored and
slightly embarrassed. You will be evaluated by the level of your attentiveness and your
involvement in these discussions.

Seminar
A seminar is intended to be a more free flowing exchange of ideas between students. I will be the
moderator and ask very limited questions, but in most other ways I will participate in the seminar
as an equal. The idea underlying this activity is not to show off or perform but rather to extend
our thinking concerning a text or subject beyond the scope of what has already been brought up
in classroom discussions. Thus it is vital for people to be engaged, prepared, and honest.

1. Students are to talk to one another and address each other by first name.
2. One may enter or withdraw from the discussion at will but courtesy must prevail.
3. This is a time to explore ideas and take ideas seriously.
4. All opinions and ideas must be supported by reason and argument.
5. Focus on ideas not personalities. (No games)

In-Class Participation
Along with frequent and consistent attendance, it would be worth your time to consider some
concrete actions which would indicate to me that you exhibit the following qualities to a high
degree during class.

1. Comes prepared to learn

2. Attentive and focused during class activities and discussions
3. Completes reading and assignments on time
4. Homework completed in a thoughtful and mindful fashion
5. Responses show careful reading and consideration
6. Contributes in ways that create a supportive and helpful environment.
AP LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
210-11 COURSE OVERVIEW

QUARTER ONE: SELF-KNOWLEDGE (Traditional Model)

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Who am I? Why am I here? What is real? Where
did I come from? Where am I going?
CONCEPTS: Self, Knowledge, Human, Truth, Conscience, Consciousness
LITERARY AND WRITING TERMS: Tragedy, Tragic Hero, Irony, Tragic Irony,
Hamartia, Catharsis, Chorus, Existentialism, Surrealism, Allusion, Tone, Diction,
Detail, Point of View, Organization, and Syntax

9/8: In-Class Analysis #1/Literary Terms

9/9: Course expectations
9/10: Course expectations
9/13: Theme
9/14: Theme
9/15: The River Why Discussion Book 1
9/16&17: A.P. Essay Analysis (Return #1)
9/20: Reading Time
9/21: Interlude
9/22&23: Introduce House Essay
9/24: The River Why Discussion Books 2 & 3
9/27: Interlude
9/28: Film
9/29&30: Film
10/1: Film/Discussion
10/4: The River Why Final Discussion
10/5: In-Class Analysis # 2
10/6&7: The Greeks
10/11: Oedipus Discussion 1(Through pg 50)
10/12: House Essay Presentation
10/13&14: House Essay Presentation
10/15: Interlude
10/18: Oedipus Discussion 2
10/19: In-Class Analysis # 3
10/20&21: Camus and Existentialism/Reading
10/22: The Stranger Discussion Part 1
10/25: Return #2&3/Begin Revision
10/26: Interlude
10/27&28: The Stranger Discussion Part 2
10/29: Peer Review/Typed Draft
11/1&2: Midterm 1/Revision 1 Due
11/3: Praise of Folly/Qtr 2 Book Choice Handed Out
11/4: Praise of Folly
11/5: Seminar
QUARTER TWO: SELF AND OTHER (Inquiry Model)
QUESTIONS: How do I live? What separates me from others? How do I use
my power with others? How do I maintain “right relationships”?
CONCEPTS: Love, Friendship, Other, Relationship, Power, Person, Empathy,
Sexuality, Agape, Epithemia, Eros, Philia
LITERARY AND WRITING TERMS: Sonnet, Spenserian Stanza, Metaphysical
Poets, Alliteration, Allusion, Anaphora, Apostrophe, Assonance, Vehicle, Tenor,
Metonymy, Allusion, Personification, Synecdoche, Meter, Poetic Foot,
Enjambment, Rhyme Scheme, Internal Rhyme

November 8 –Jan 18th: Independent Reading/Project Poet

11/8: Thematic Reflection/Introduction to second quarter theme
11/9&10: Introduction to Poetry/Project Poet Set-up
11/12: Poet Decision/Work
11/15: Workshop
11/16: Workshop
11/17&18: Discussions/Tutorials/Productivity time
11/19: Workshop
11/23: Workshop
THANKSGIVING
11/29: In-Class Poetry Analysis 1
11/30: Workshop
12/1&2: Discussion/Tutorials/Productivity time
12/3: Workshop
12/6: Workshop
12/7: Workshop
12/8&9: Productivity day
12/10: In-Class Poetry Analysis 2
12/13-15: Final Meetings/Productivity days
12/16&17: Qtr 2 Midterm/Part 1 Due

CHRISTMAS BREAK
1/4: In-Class Poetry Analysis 3/Part 2 Assigned
1/5&6: Love Songs
1/7: Interlude
1/10: Interlude
1/11: Seminar: M. Scott Peck, Love
1/12&13: Productivity time
1/14: Interlude
1/18: Part 2 Due
1/19&20: Film
1/21: Finish film/discussion/questions due
1/25-1/28: Final Exams
QUARTER THREE: SELF AND SOCIETY (Collaborative Model)
QUESTIONS: How should I act? What are my obligations and responsibilities?
What are the limits of my obligations? What does a good society look like?
CONCEPTS & TERMS: Society, Community, Language, Power, Law, Ethics,
Institution, Politics, Tragedy, Iambic Pentameter, Couplet, Satire, Polemic, Irony,
Didactic, Tone, Diction, Detail, Point of View, Organization, Syntax

February 1 -March 19: Hamlet

1/31: Set-up, intro. to theme
2/1: Shakespeare/Hamlet intro
2/2&3: Seminar: George Orwell, Politics and the English Language
2/4: Read/Begin Act I.i&ii
2/7: Discussion Act I.iii-v
2/8: Discussion Act II.i-ii line 237
2/9&10: Scenes/Introduce The Casual Essay
2/11: Discussion Act II.ii the rest
2/14: Ideology
2/15: View Scenes
2/16&17: Seminar: Laura Bohannan, Shakespeare in the Bush
2/18: Discussion Act III
2/22: Interlude
2/23&24: View Scenes/Peer Review The Casual Essay
2/25: Discussion Act IV
2/24: Read/Write
2/28: Read/Write
3/1: Discussion ActV
3/2&3: Wrap-up & Introduce the Rotten Project (Casual Essay Due)
3/4-14: Rotten Work
3/15-18: Rotten Presentations

SPRING BREAK

3/28: Introduce Chaucer (Final Project handed out and explained)

3/29: The General Prologue
3/30&31: Seminar: Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal
4/1: The Miller’s Tale
4/4: The Nun’s Priest’s Tale
4/5 A.P. Test Prep
4/6&7: The of Wife of Bath’s Tale
4/8; Interlude
4/11: The Reeve’s Tale
4/12: The Pardoner’s Tale
4/13&14: Midterm Examination
4/15: 4th quarter theme
FOURTH QUARTER: THE JOURNEY HOME
(“I am so done w/ high school” Model)

QUESTIONS: Where am I going, where have I been, and by what path am I

traveling?
CONCEPTS: Hero, Journey, Quest
LITERARY AND WRITING TERMS: Myth, Romance, Comedy, Archetype, Motif,
Modernism, Post-Modernism, Tone, Diction, Detail, Point of View, Organization,
Syntax

April 18 –April 29: The Divine Comedy
4/18: Intro to Dante
4/19: Cantos 1 & 2
4/20&21: Cantos 3-5/Dante
4/25: Cantos 7,8,10, 14,17, 24
4/26&28: Cantos 30, 32, 33 and 34/Purgatorio & Paradiso
4/29: Final Project Due

May 2-May 13: A.P. Exams & Pride and Prejudice

May 16 – End of Year: Restoration, the Journey Home

5/16: Interlude/Seminar Learning to Fall
5/17: Kite Runner
5/18&19: Kite Runner
5/20: KR Discussion/Profiles
5/23: Profiles
5/24: Profiles
5/25-27: Cinema Paradiso
5/31: CP Discussion
6/1: Final Paper
6/2&3: Midterm Examination

Final High School Finals