COURSE OF STUDY—AP ENGLISH
20015-2016
Mr. Thomas
UNIT 1 – The AP Exam (8/3 – 8/14)
Overview of the class structure
Overview of the AP Exam format
- Multiple Choice section
- Free Response Questions: Types
Analyze the prompts
Close Reading
AP Rubric
UNIT 2 – Understanding Poetry (8/17 – 8-28)
Poetry Questions on the AP Exam
Poetic Analysis
Form and Function
Figurative Language
Sound Devices
UNIT 3 – Revenge/Indecision (8/31 – 10/8)
Major Text
Hamlet – William Shakespeare
Ancillary Texts
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” – T.S. Eliot
Sonnets – Shakespeare, Spencer, Petrarch
Articles on Revenge/Vengeance
Information on Renaissance, Shakespeare, tragedy
UNIT 4 – Knowledge/Responsibility (10/19 – 11/13)
Major Text
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Ancillary Texts
The Myth of Prometheus
Romantic Poetry
William Blake, Robert Burns, William Wordsworth, Samuel Wordsworth,
Charlotte Smith, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, John Keats
“The Call of Cthulhu” – H.P. Lovecraft
“Herbert West – Reanimator” – H.P. Lovecraft
“Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” – Jessica Mitford
“The Hazards of Science” – Lewis Thomas
UNIT 5 – Cruelty (11/16 – 12/18)
Major Text
Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
Ancillary Texts
“The Hollow Men” – T.S. Eliot
“The Mark of the Beast,” “White Man’s Burden,” “Gunga Din” – Rudyard Kipling
“Shooting an Elephant” – George Orwell
Articles on Rwanda
UNIT 6 – The American Dream: Part 1 (1/5 – 1/29)
Major Text
Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller
Fences – August Wilson
Ancillary Texts
“Tragedy and the Common Man” – Arthur Miller
“The Waste Land” – T.S. Eliot
UNIT 7 – Beauty (2/1 – 2/26)
Various Poetic selections in preparation for the AP exam
UNIT 8 – The American Dream: Part 2 (2/29 – 4/1)
Major Text
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ancillary Texts
Cane – Jean Toomer
“Winter Dreams” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Harlem Renaissance poetry
Jazz Songs
UNIT 9 – Humor/Satire (4/4 – 4/29)
Major Text
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Ancillary Texts
“A Modest Proposal” – Jonathan Swift
“The Rape of the Lock” – Alexander Pope
“An Essay on Man” – Alexander Pope
Songs by Weird Al Yankovic
Excerpts from America (The Book): A Guide to Democracy Inaction – Jon Stewart
UNIT 10 – Last Details (5/2 – 5/13)
AP Exam: Taken on 5/4/16
Turn in final papers a book from the “Alternate Books” list
Wrap up coursework