Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition! This handout lists and discusses and, I hope, answers any questions you have about what to expect from this class this year.
I can be reached at (734) 484-7000, ext. 1304, or via e-mail at pahle@lincolnk12.org. I also have a class website at http://mrpahlesclass.weebly.com
We will meet in Room 1307. If you wish to meet briefly throughout the day, I have classes in the same room throughout the day. I have A lunch, and I can meet with during that time if we make an appointment.
This is a college-level course in reading and critical writing about literature. Advanced Placement English requires of students a desire to learn more than the obvious or superficial, a sense of personal responsibility sufficient to keep up with the individual reading and writing workload and to contribute meaningfully to group efforts, and either a good basic command of language or the willingness to work hard to catch up with other students who possess such skills. On attaining a successful score on the
Advanced Placement test in May, students are eligible to receive college credit .
This course meets either the Michigan Merit Curriculum English 11 OR English 12 requirement (but not both).
This class will be primarily about learning—and about thinking in depth about literature and what it says about the reader’s world. I also want students to have the experience of college-level learning, something most high school students do not have available to them. College-level learning is about rigor; about responsibility; and about reading, writing, and thinking about mature and difficult texts. The difficulty of the texts is a stimulus for students to make their own decisions about published authors, about themselves as a writer and a reader, about their colleagues as writers and readers, about the deep and ongoing questions that relate to what it means to be a responding, acting human being both individually and as part of a society. This is a college-level class, and the standards for grades reflect that. Students will need to work hard and to participate actively in class.
This course, I hope, will be stimulating and demanding, one in which a student will grow in relation to who he or she is, how she or he relates to others, to society, and to themselves. While the established standards developed by state or federal mandates are important, true learning, I believe, comes from within, rather than society’s expectations. School is the last stronghold in this regard, a place where experimentation occurs for its own sake, where ideas are generated to be considered and examined for their own sake and for the student’s consideration and reflection—not because there is a bottom-line, state-mandated expectation. The student, in combination with her colleagues and me, will define this course on a weekly and daily basis. While the curriculum is established, how the student approaches it—and what she comes away with—will determine whether the students can consider themselves learners. Learning is an organic process, interactive; it is not predicated on my filling students with information, as though they were empty vessels. My students and I will learn together.

Be Responsible
Be in your assigned seat and ready to learn by the time the bell rings. You MUST be in the classroom
(through the door) by the time the bell rings, or you will be marked as tardy and must sign in the classroom passbook. Bring the materials you need for class. Make certain you bring any assignments that are due that day. Anything which is not a part of this class (backpacks, bags, purses, textbooks from other classes, food, drinks other than water, etc.) need to be removed from the tables and put on the floor underneath your assigned seat.
Be Respectful
Deciding that you want to learn something makes it much easier to actually learn that thing. At the minimum, do not put down other students—especially within earshot of the teacher.
Cooperate with your teacher and your fellow students. Take responsibility for your own actions and treat everyone (even people you may not like) with courtesy. While you should always use good manners, remember that good manners do not excuse bad behavior. When discussing issues or events, remember to challenge the ideas—not the people who are expressing them . Avoid sidebar conversations. Be ready to respond intelligently to any questions raised by the teacher or other students.
Be Safe
Follow school rules and common sense to avoid injury to yourself and others. This includes mental and emotional safety as well as physical.
35% Writing Assignments
• Every marking period includes at least two major writing assignments and multiple other opportunities for students to practice their writing skills. There will be a wide variety of writing assignments, from one- or two-paragraph responses to texts read in class to three- to five-page persuasive, analysis, expository, or narrative essays. You will also pay close attention to being able to judge a text's literary merits using text and real-life examples.
(Please note that such analytical reviews do not focus on whether you liked the text— De gustabus non est disputandum , after all—but whether a text is of high quality, and why.
•
I will provide feedback during the drafting process as well as after the writing assignment is complete. I will help you focus on developing your arguments in general and supporting those arguments in particular. No grade is final until you are satisfied with it. I can work with you via e-mail, during class or lunch, or after school. Please schedule a time with me beforehand.
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A list of the writing assignments you can expect to complete include—but are not limited to—is included at the end of this syllabus.
• For nearly every major writing assignment, I will provide instruction and feedback on your writing assignments, both before and after you revise your work to help you develop logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence. Such techniques may include traditional rhetorical structures—such as ethos, pathos, and logos— graphic organizers, and work on repetition, transitions, and emphasis, as well as more in-depth analysis and discussion of supporting arguments. Further, depending on the assignment, and depending on the class’s needs as a whole, I will monitor vocabulary, use of detail, use of tone and voice, and variation of sentence structure. Again, what we focus on will depend on what students need help with.

10% Outside reading
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Students are expected to expand their literary knowledge by reading challenging literature outside of the reading directly assigned in class. Students are required to keep a reading log
(separate from their literature notebook) with at least five entries and complete a review card for each book that they read. Students must choose their readings from the list provided by the teacher. Students must read at least one book a marking period, with three books required to receive an A.
20% Literature Notebook (Dialectical)
 Dialectical notebooks have two columns: a “text” column and a “response” column. Students are expected to take notes on their readings and important quotations in the “text” column.
The “response” column is for student responses, questions, observations, and ideas. Students receive a set amount of points for each reading. Points are deducted if the notes are incomplete, are not labeled and dated properly, or are difficult to read.
35% Tests and Quizzes
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Students will take an AP-style timed quiz (either multiple choice or writing) every other
Monday and a vocabulary quiz (based on words that students have added from their readings to the Word Wall) every other Monday. They should expect other reading quizzes and tests at major points within and after their class readings. At no point are tests to leave the classroom—even after they have been graded. Students are not allowed to take pictures of their tests at any time. If students have an excused absence on a test day, they must set up a make-up test time with Mr. Pahle. If students have an unexcused absence on a test day, they cannot make up the test.
Entering the Classroom— On entering the room, students are to switch to “AP English Mode.” They are to quietly turn in any work due that day, sit in their assigned seats, remove anything that does not pertain to the class from the tables, their backs, or their laps, place those things on the floor underneath their chairs, and follow the instructions listed on the board.
Tardy to Class— A student must be fully within the classroom before the bell rings to be considered on time. Any student who enters after the bell begins to ring must sign in the passbook and will be counted as tardy. Any student who misses more than 5 minutes of class will be counted as absent. Exceptions are made for students with excused passes from the office, a counselor, or another teacher.
Materials— Students must bring these to class:
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A spiral-bound notebook with a minimum of 100 pages of at least 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper.
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Loose-leaf paper
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for other assignments and activities
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Tiny Post-It notes
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for taking notes on stories that must be returned in pristine condition
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A writing utensil
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a black or dark blue ink ball point pen or a #2 pencil
How to Determine What the Daily Assignments Are— Daily assignments and activities will be written on the left-hand side of the board. Please refer to the schedule handed out at the beginning of each quarter for upcoming assignments. I will attempt to update the class website daily; you can access it at http://mrpahlesclass.weebly.com
Reading Assignments— Students will be assigned a wide variety readings in several different genres.
This course does not separate the different readings into units based on genres or themes, but instead allows the students to build their own connections to and between the various readings. Readings will

range from discussion of large works (including Othello by William Shakespeare; Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen; Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; The Awakening by Kate Chopin; Things Fall Apart by
Chinua Achebe; and Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles) to shorter works, nonfiction, poetry, and even simply passages of works similar to what students will see on the AP test.
Students will be expected to use a dialectic notebook to record their progress in reading these texts as well as their own reflections, thoughts, opinions, and questions about them. These reflections should demonstrate that the student gave close attention to the vocabulary, figurative language, structure, style, and themes used within the reading, as well as consideration to the social, cultural, or historical values shown in the reading.
Students are expected to complete further readings than those assigned directly in class. Students will choose from a list of titles provided by the instructor and are required to complete a series of reading logs and a review card for each title.
Texts— These are the textbooks used in this class:
Primary textbook: Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama , by Robert DiYanni
Selections from:
Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing , by Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell
The Norton Anthology of Poetry , by Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy
The Norton Introduction to Literature , by Kelly J. Mays
Writing Assignments— Students will receive regular in-class timed writing assignments in an effort to prepare them for the AP test. Students will expand upon these writings and the notes they have taken in their dialectical notebooks as they write larger, formal analyses outside of class. There will be no fewer than two of these larger assignments every marking period. While everything that the students write in this course should go through the writing process, these assignments will require that the student provide evidence of prewriting, revision, and editing. These assignments will also require proof of self-, peer-, and instructor review before they can be submitted.
While students will work on their handwriting skills and stamina through their in-class writings, out of class writings will require word-processed MLA formatting. Assignments will only be accepted if they are presented in as a “hard copy — electronic submissions are only accepted if the assignment requires them.
Turning in Assignments— Mr. Pahle or a student helper will collect assignments at the beginning of the class period. Assignments turned in after that collection are considered late.
Returning Assignments to Students— Either Mr. Pahle or a student helper will return graded assignments. Any work that is unclaimed at that time will be placed in the work box located near my desk.
Determining Grade Status— Parents have access to student grades through the online PowerSchool program. See the office for details on how to access this site. I will make every effort to update grades by
Wednesday each week.
Student Responsibilities after an Absence— Students who are absent need to meet with another student from class to obtain any information missed. On returning from an excused absence, it is the student’s responsibility to ask the teacher for any other missed work.

Expectations for Discussions— Be attentive, involved, respectful, and specific.
Late, Missing, or Incomplete Assignments— If the student is in class on the due date, the assignment is considered late work if it is not turned in while being collected. If the student is not in class due to an excused absence, the assignment has its due date extended by the number of excused absences the student had before the original due date. Assignments turned in after that point are considered late work. If the student is not in class due to an unexcused absence (skipping), the assignment receives no credit.
Communication Procedures with Parents/Families/Guardians— The best way to contact Mr. Pahle is through email at: pahle@lincoln12.org or by phone at 484-7000, ext. 7224. Emailed questions will receive a response within one school day. If you wish to meet during lunch, please set up an appointment in advance.
Ending Class— Students borrowing a book or other materials must return them a few minutes before the end of class. All students must be in their seats and silent before Mr. Pahle will dismiss the class.
Consequences for Classroom Rule Violations— Consequences depend on the severity of the violation.
As long as the offense does not involve school rules, most situations will require a conference between the student(s) involved and Mr. Pahle. More serious infractions or regularly occurring problems may require a referral to the student’s parents and possibly school administration.

(Please note that this schedule may change based on student interest, student ability, and student input. Not every assignment may be listed here)
Week 1—September 7-11
What is poetry?
“My Last Duchess,” by Robert Browning
Writing Assignment #1: Poetry Manifesto
Week 2—September 14-18
What are tone and voice? How are they used?
“Naming of Parts,” by Henry Reed
“Death of the Ball Turret Gunner,” by Randall Jerrell
Week 3—September 21-25
What are diction and syntax? How are they used?
“Since There’s No Help,” by Michael Drayton
“Picnic, Lightning,” by Billy Collins
“To the Snake,” by Denise Levertov
Week 4—September 28-October 2
What is structure? What is imagery? How are they used?
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” by T.S. Eliot
In-class Written Review—How do these poems make use of diction, syntax, and imagery? Explain why such use is effective.
Week 5—October 5-October 9
How are rhythm and meter used?
“I Like to See It Lap the Miles,” by Emily Dickinson
Introduction to “Songs of Innocence,” by William Blake
“Had I the Choice,” by Walt Whitman
Week 6—October 12-October 16
Poetic Structure: Sonnets and Epigrams
“Upon the Breeze She Spread Her Golden Hair,” by Francesco
Petrarch
“My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun,” by William
Shakespeare
“Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments,” by William
Shakespeare
“Something Like A Sonnet for Phillis Miracle Wheatley,” by June
Jordan
Week 7—October 19-October 23
Poetic Structure: Open Structure
“Buffalo Bill’s Defunct,” by e.e. cummings, “Ars Poetica,” by Archibald MacLeish, “Ode to My Socks,” by Pablo Neruda
In-class Written Review—How does structure affect meaning?
Did the poets succeed?
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 6, SC 12-15
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 7
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 7
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 5, SC 7,
SC 9
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 7
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 7
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 5, SC 7,
SC 9

Week 8—October 26-October 30
Langston Hughes Unit
Writing Assignment #2—Langston Hughes’ Poetry
Week 9—November 2-6
Complete presentations
Complete Writing Assignment #1: Poetry Manifesto
Week 10—November 2-6
Theme and structure in fiction
“Good Country People” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by
Flannery O’Connor
Writing Assignment #3—Irony in Flannery
Week 11—November 2-6
Syntax and diction in fiction
Begin reading The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
Selection from Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner , by
Alan Sillitoe
Selection from The Lost Honour of Katherina Blum , by
Heinrich Böll
Selection from The Heart of a Dog, by Mikhail Bulgakov
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 3, SC 4,
SC 12-15
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 2, SC 3, SC 4,
SC 12-15
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 3, SC 12-15
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 7
Week 12—November 9-13
Continue reading The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
In-class Written Review—How does diction and syntax affect a reader’s interpretation of a text?
Week 13—November 16-20
Continue reading The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
Week 14—November 23-27
Finish reading The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
“The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
In-class Written Review about “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Week 15—November 30-December 4
Test on The Awakening
Writing Assignment #4—Feminism in The Awakening
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 7
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 4, SC 6, SC 8,
SC 12-15
Week 16—December 7-11
Begin reading Heart of Darkness , by Joseph Conrad
“All There Is to Know about Adolf Eichmann,” by Leonard Cohen
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
SC 1, SC 5
“The Crowd at the Ball Game,” by William Carlos Williams
“Departmental,” by Robert Frost
In-class Written Review—What points to do these poets make about human evil? How do they make those points?

Week 17—December 14-18
Continue reading Heart of Darkness , by Joseph Conrad
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 7
WINTER BREAK
Week 18—January 4-8
Finish reading Heart of Darkness , by Joseph Conrad
Writing Assignment #5—Points of View in the Heart of Darkness
Midterm
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 6, SC 12-15
(Please note that this schedule may change based on student interest, student ability, and student input. Not every assignment may be listed here)
Week 19—January 11-15
“The Hollow Men,” by T.S. Eliot
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Week 20—January 18-22
“Neutral Tones,” by Thomas Hardy
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 3, SC 6, SC 8,
SC 11, SC 12-15
“Woman to Child,” by Judith Wright
“Advice to My Son,” by J. Peter Meinke
Writing Assignment #6: Use of Imagery and Structure in “The Hollow Men”
Week 21—January 25-29
Begin reading Things Fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe
“The Second Coming,” by William Butler Yeats
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 7
In-class Written Review—Intertextuality
Week 22—February 1-5
Continue reading Things Fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe
Logos, ethos, and pathos—How are they used?
“An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's
Heart of Darkness,” by
Chinua Achebe
“Rhythm and Narrative Method in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall
Apart,
” by B. Eugene McCarthy
Week 23—February 8-12
Continue reading Things Fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe
In-class Written Review—Nonfiction Analysis
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Week 24—February 15-19
Finish reading Things Fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe
Homework: Read Oedipus Rex at home. Due Friday
Writing Assignment #7—Okonkwo and King Oedipus
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 6, SC 10,
SC 12-15

Week 25—February 22-26
“Elegy Just in Case,” by John Ciardi
“Elegy for Jane,” by Theodore Roethke
“Elegy,” by Arthur Guiterman
“Ozymandias,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Week 26—February 29-March 4
Othello, by William Shakespeare
In-class Written Review—Why poetry in drama?
Week 27—March 7-March 11
Othello, by William Shakespeare
Week 28—March 14-March 18
Othello, by William Shakespeare
Writing Assignment #8—The Protagonist of Othello
Week 29—March 21-March 25
Begin reading Pride and Prejudice
Satire:
“How to Write about Africa,” by Binyavanga Wainaina
“A Modest Proposal,” by Jonathan Swift
Week 30—March 21-March 25
Continue reading Pride and Prejudice
“The Poison Tree,” by William Blake
“The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost
“The Soldier,” by Rupert Brooke
“In the Event of a Moon Emergency,” by William Safire
In-class Written Review—Why is symbolism important? How does it appear in Pride and Prejudice?
Week 31—March 28-April 1
Continue reading Pride and Prejudice
“Araby,” by James Joyce and “A & P,” by John Updike
Writing Assignment #9—Language and Imagery in
Pride and Prejudice
SPRING BREAK
Week 32—April 11-April 15
Continue reading Pride and Prejudice
“The Theme of Moral Blindness in
Pride and Prejudice,
” by
Gabrielle Castellanos
Week 32—April 18-April 22
Continue reading Pride and Prejudice
“The Rape of the Lock, Canto I,” by Alexander Pope
In-class Written Review—The War between the Sexes
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 6, SC 10,
SC 12-15
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 5
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 7

Week 33—April 25-April 29
Finish reading Pride and Prejudice
Writing Assignment #10—Jane Austen’s Normative Stance in
Pride and Prejudice
Week 33—May 22-May 4
Prepare and review for AP exam on May 4
Scoring Component
SC 1, SC 6, SC 10,
SC 12-15
Biweekly, students will take these tests and review answers, discussing why those answers are the correct ones and why they chose them.
Poetry:
“La Belle Dame Sans Merci”
“Since There’s No Help”
“Now Goes Under”
“Naming of Parts”
“Aubade”
“One Day I Wrote Her Name”
“The Lifeguard”
“Eight O’Clock”
“Virtue”
“A Deep Sworn Vow”
“Snake”
“Ethics”
Nonfiction:
“The Wretchedness of Slavery”
“Samuel Johnson on Pope”
“Poets and Language”
“Monterey”
“Animals Talk to Each Other”
Fiction:
“A Green and Yellow Parrot”
Selection from Heart of Darkness
“Civil Peace”
“Sonny’s Blues”
“The Blind Man”
“Cat in the Rain”
Please note that all writing assignments will go through the writing process, including peer editing, along with an review by the teacher. Students can meet with the teacher, and rewrite, as many times as necessary.
#1 — Poetry Manifesto: What is poetry? What does poetry do? How does it do it?
#2—Choose one poem by Langston Hughes and explain how his historical era—the Harlem
Renaissance—affected your reading of the poems.
#3—Read Flannery O’Connor’s Everything That Rises Must Converge and explain, using examples, how the narrative and theme require irony for fully effect.
#4—Discuss feminist elements, using the section on feminist criticism, that appear in The Awakening and
“The Yellow Wallpaper.”

#5 — Point of view is an integral part in understanding both the plot of The Heart of Darkness and the themes behind it. How do the varying points of view affect the tone and overall message?
#6—How does imagery and structure affect the tone and theme of “The Hollow Men”?
#7
—
The theme of tragedy, and the tragic hero, is an ancient one. Compare and contrast how Okokonkwo and Oedipus are characterized as tragic heroes using Aristotle’s definition.
#8
—
Who is the protagonist in Othello, Iago or Othello himself?
#9—Discuss the use of language and imagery and how the function both in prose and poetry; use examples from “Araby” and
Pride and Prejudice.
#10 — Satirists are moralists; they have a strong sense of what is right, what should be. What is Jane
Austen’s normative stance as shown by the themes and actions in
Pride and Prejudice ?

Please sign this and bring it home for a parent or guardian to sign, as well. Then, return this sheet and keep the above handout in your notebook for easy reference.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Remember, please feel free to contact me by telephone, e-mail, or in person should you have any comments, questions, or concerns!!!
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