4AP ENGLISH LITERATURE & COMPOSITION 2007-2008 *
Course Theme: The Individual’s Place in Society
1st Quarter: Sept. 4-Nov. 2
Sept.
1st Quarter Theme: Outside Determining Forces & One’s Role in Society: The structure and dynamics of society and our personal role are
influenced by outside forces. Poverty, racism, gender, historical incidents, geography, and a plethora of human emotions and cosmic accidents can
play determining roles in what society is and our role within it. Essential questions are: What outside forces shape society and our role? How can we
successfully confront these forces? What happens if we fail?
Major Texts & Related Poetry
Short Stories & Related Poetry
Graded Assessments
In-Class Activities
(Notes: * refers to works discussed in class /
“HO” refers to handout)
(Notes: Page numbers refer to Kennedy textbook / “HO” refers to
handout / * refers to works discussed in class / “STWW” refers to
Steps to Writing Well)
(Notes: “AR” refers to Accelerated
Reader Programs / “T&N” refers to
Tooth & Nail / “E.g.” gives one of several
examples of essay & oral presentation
prompts used in the activity)
(Notes: “M/C” refers to multiple choice quizzes
/ “US” refers to Understanding Style / “T&N”
refers to Tooth & Nail / In-Class Graded
Assessments listed in adjacent column are not
duplicated in this column to save space)
*Shakespeare: Othello (summer assignment)
*Shakespeare: “Let Me Not…” (HO)
*Wroth: “This Strange Labyrinth” (HO)
Shakespeare: “Since There is no Help”
(HO)
Stivers: “Chelsea” (HO)
Jones: “The Loft” (HO)
Reading Poetry (697-703, 788-789, 931-932, 715-716, 882 & HO)
AR Comprehension Test: Othello
Field trip to Folger or Shakespeare Theatre
Plot & Short Stories (12-15) / Myth (974-976, 987, & 995-996)
*Grimm: “Godfather Death” (9-12)
“Card Report”/Summary of Othello (21702173)
Death Personified
*Dickinson: “Because I Would Not” (1103)
*Collins: “My Number” (HO)
*Donne: “Death Be Not Proud” (1162)
*cummings: “Buffalo Bill’s” (938)
Timed Essay: Othello (E.g., explain how
the final death scene contributes to the
meaning of the complete work.)
AP practice tests:
. Shakespeare: “Let Me Not…” (essay)
. Shakespeare: “Then Hate Me…” (M/C)
. “King Richard” (M/C)
. Hardy: “On Moonlit Heath” (essay)
. Millay: “Now Goes Under” (M/C)
(Note: The AP practice tests listed above and
below under this In-Class Activities column for
other quarters are given for homework and
discussed in class.)
Point of View (23-28) / Analyzing Imagery (808-812)
*Faulkner: “A Rose for Emily” (29-36)
*Sexton: “Her Kind” (730)(a witch)
*Chesterton: “The Donkey” (1157)(animal)
*Wordsworth: “A Slumber Did…” (865)(imagery)
*Housman: “The Night is Freezing Fast” (HO)(imagery)
Point of View (Continued)(gender issues)
*Gilman: “The Yellow Wallpaper” (571-584)
Gender Issues
*Browning: “My Last Duchess” (712) (dramatic)
*Mew: “The Farmer’s Bride” (1210)
*Rose: “Julia” (HO) (understanding context)
Rilke: “A Woman’s Fate” (HO)
Group Oral Debates: Othello (E.g., what
motivates Iago?)
Timed Essay: “The Dead”. Multiple
rewrites. (Prompt: discuss Gabriel’s
character, referring to imagery, point of
view, motif, diction and/or syntax.)
Read & discuss model Othello essays (1800-1804)
and HO). (Note: Best student essays are
anonymous.)
Test: Literature Terms & Concepts using
McCarthy’s The Crossing & Shakespeare’s
“My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing…”
Draft and discuss thesis statements and approach
to essay on “Let Me Not…” relating to diction,
syntax, imagery &/or structure.
Vocabulary quiz: T&N Chs. 1-11
Develop & discuss rubric for class essay
assignments using AP released essays on Blake’s
“Chimney Sweep” & Chopin’s “The Awakening”
Journal: 7 entries. (E.g., discuss your
personal experience in facing a moral
dilemma.)
Discuss plot, personification, point of view, and
gender issues in play, short stories & related
poetry (see left & 2nd from left columns).
*Williams: “The Red Wheelbarrow)(731)(understanding context)
Discuss & study literature terms & concepts (HO)
Discuss/study T&N vocabulary Chs. 1-11
* AP English Literature Syllabus prepared by Scott Ferguson. 2007
2
Oct.
* Morrison: Song of Solomon
Tradition / Racial Issues
Hughes: “Mother to Son” (1117)
Crane: “My G’ndmother’s Love Letters”
(1160)
Merwin: “Utterance” (HO)
Klein: Heirloom” (HO)
Blake: “Little Black Boy” (HO)
Solomon: “Song of Songs” (HO)
Character (91-94)
*Carver: “Cathedral” (111-121)
Blindness / Disability
*Milton: “When I Consider…” (1212)
*Rilke: “Going Blind” (HO)
Dickinson: “We Grow Accustomed…” (HO) (graded essay)
Frost: “Acquainted with the Night” (919) (graded essay)
Setting (124-126) & Connotation/Denotation (776-778)
*Poe: “Masque of Red Death” (386-390)
End of the World
*Frost: “Fire & Ice” (784)(diction)
*Frost: “Once by the Pacific” (HO)
Frost: “On Looking up by Chance” (HO)
Macleish: “End of the World” (HO) (practice M/C test)
Momaday: “The Burning” (HO)
Tone / Style (170-174)
*Hemingway: “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” (174-178)
Isolation
*Frost: “Stopping by Woods” (1177)
*Frost: “Desert Places” (876)
Lowell: “Skunk Hour” (1206)
AR Comprehension Test: Song of Solomon
Group Oral Presentations: Song of Solomon
(E.g., explain what Morrison is saying about
race & race relations.)
Personal genealogy assignment for Song of
Solomon
Timed Essay: Song of Solomon (E.g., explain
Milkman’s search to find himself, assess his
success & how his search contributes to the
meaning of the work.)
Research/Annotated Bibliography on “How to
write a good college essay”
Homework Essay: college application. Peer
Review & multiple rewrites.
Timed Essay: Compare/contrast point of view,
imagery & structure in Frost/Dickinson poems
Timed Essay: Compare/contrast poetic
techniques in Blake/Wordsworth poems
Vocabulary quiz: #12
Journal: 4 entries (E.g., describe your first
experience with death.)
Nov.
See Antwone Fisher video & discuss
similarities/differences with Song of Solomon’s
bildungsroman.
AP practice tests:
. “Station wagons” (M/C)
. “Journey” (essay)
. “Sestina” (M/C)
. Macleish: “End of the World” (M/C)
. “Sunday morning service…” (M/C)
. Wright: “Albuquerque Graveyard” (MC)
. Ellison: Invisible Man (M/C)
Read & discuss model Song of Solomon essays
(HO)
Discuss character development, blindness motif,
setting, tone, style, & isolation, religion &
tradition subjects in novel, short story & poetry
(see left & 2nd from left columns).
Discuss/study vocabulary Ch .12
Throughout the year, students receive instruction
& practice in writing. This entails the following
training: Word Use (STWW 141-159), including
diction & clichés (US 65-75 & 76-78).
Vocabulary expansion through T&N is vital.
Sentence Construction (STWW 115-139),
including structure, variety, subordination &
transitions (US 157-177 & 102-110, & STWW 7071). Paragraph Construction (STWW 59-62)
including topic sentences, critical thinking making
arguments, transitions, repetition and emphasis
(US 111-114 & 175-177). Essay Construction,
including thesis statements (STWW 32-45),
argument development (STWW 273-285)98-100),
transitions (STWW 77), use of evidence (STWW
59-62 & 179-185), comparison & contrast
(STWW 211-215), writing about poetry (Kennedy
2147 & STWW 430-433) & other literature
(STWW 407-413, 421-424 & 437-439), tone &
voice (US 3-25), research (Kennedy 2179-2193 &
STWW 355-406). Readings and lessons are
incorporated into daily instruction, homework,
comments on essays, and discussion on models.
Essentially the same as above
3
2nd Quarter: Nov. 3-Jan. 24
Major Texts & Related Poetry
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
Nov.
*Kingsolver: Poisonwood Bible
Religion
Herbert: “Love” (1190)
cummings: “i thank you God” (HO)
Hopkins: “Thou Art Indeed Just” (HO)
2nd Quarter Theme: Social Barriers to Personal Fulfillment & Happiness: We all wrestle with the question of what will make us happy, but so
often find that society is a barrier to our goals. Even apart from economic, family, moral, and structural limitations on personal choices, there is the
fundamental challenge of what constitutes a well-spent life. Essential questions include: What will best give us happiness and fulfillment? What
responsibilities to we have to society? What answers are provided by society, including organized religion and philosophy?
Short Stories & Related Poetry
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
Irony (192-193)(gender issues)
*Chopin: “The Story of an Hour” (552-553)
*Hardy: “The Ruined Maid” (764)(irony)
Kooser: “Carrie” (968)(irony)
Rich: “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” (707)(lyric)
Olds: “Rites of Passage” (734)
Graded Assessments
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
AR Comprehension Test: Poisonwood Bible
Group Oral Presentations: Poisonwood Bible
(E.g., describe and analyze the character of
Orleanna Price & “what things they carried” (the
chapter 1 title))
In-Class Activities
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
AP practice tests:
. Addison: The Spectator (essay)
. Laurence: “affair” (M/C)
. Defoe: Moll Flanders (M/C)
. Fielding: Tom Jones (essay)
. Fielding: Tom Jones (M/C)
. “Criticism” (M/C)
Timed Essay: Poisonwood Bible (E.g., explain the
title’s significance & how it is developed through
the author’s use of contrast, repetition, allusion
&/or point of view.)
Discuss irony, & gender & religion issues in
novel, short story & related poetry (see left 2nd
from left columns).
Vocabulary Quiz #13
Read & discuss model Poisonwood essays.
Discuss/study T&N vocabulary Ch .13
Dec.
* Martel: Life of Pi
Tone / Style (Continued)
*Hurston: “Sweat” (594-604)
*Herrick: “Upon Julia’s Clothes” (761)(diction)
*Hopkins: “The Windhover” (1193)(diction)
Timed Essay: Life of Pi (E.g., What motivates
Piscine deliberately taking on the name Pi and
how does this relate to themes of the novel?)
AP practice test:
. Heart of Darkness (M/C)
Read & discuss model Life of Pi essays.
Vocabulary Quiz #14
Discuss style, tone, & approach to essay on AP
practice prompt for prose passage (“Once in a dry
season…”)
Discuss tone & style in short story & related
poetry (see 2nd from left column).
Discuss/study T&N vocabulary Ch .14
Jan.
* (continued)
Timed Essay: Compare/contrast the styles of 2
Faulkner & Hemingway passages
Vocabulary Quiz #15
Discuss/study T&N vocabulary Ch .15
4
3rd
Quarter: Jan. 25-Apr. 10
Major Texts & Related Poetry
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
Jan.
*Irving: Prayer for Owen Meany
Fate / Free Will
*Frost: Design” (2149)
*Thiel: “Memento Mori…” (985)
Updike: “Ex-Basketball Player (1253)
Pushkin: “I Loved You” (HO)
Quarter Theme: Society’s Impact on Individual Independence: A defining characteristic of civilized society is its system of rules and
expectations. A continuing challenge is squaring this encompassing, sometimes oppressive force with our need for personal independence.
Literature explores the limits of this on-going tension, sometimes advocating the importance of stability and structure, at other times society’s
destructive effects on individualism. Essential questions are: What are the contours of social expectations? What personal freedom do we have to
challenge society? What happens when we rebel?
3rd
Short Stories & Related Poetry
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
Figurative Language (814-815)
*Walker: “Everyday Use” (102-109)
*Donne: “Batter My Heart” (753) (religious metaphor)
*Hirsch: “A Fundamentalist” (HO) (religious metaphor)
Frost: “Silken Tent” (830) (metaphor)
Phillips: “Running on Empty” (1221) (metaphor)
Symbols (251-253 & 279)
*Steinbeck: “Chrysanthemums” (254-262)
Frost: “Mending Wall” (symbolism)
Wordsworth: “There Was a Boy” (practice M/C)
Frost: “The Most of It” (practice M/C)
Graded Assessments
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
AR Comprehension Test: Owen Meany
Oral Presentations: Owen Meany issues (E.g.,
how does Irving use symbolism in the novel &
invest it in the story?)
Timed Essays (3): Owen Meany (E.g.,
compare/contrast “At the San Francisco Airport”
with Owen Meany, discussing imagery, details
& figurative language.)
In-Class Activities
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
AP practice tests:
. “Habit of Perfection” (M/C)
. “Reunion” (essay)
. “There Was a Boy” (M/C)
. “The Most of It” (M/C)
Discuss figurative language, symbolism &
fate/free will issues in novel, short stories &
related poetry (see left & 2nd from left columns).
Read & discuss model Owen Meany essays.
Entire AP practice test “A”. (Note: Practice tests
referenced here and below come from College
Board & commercial sources.)
Feb.
*Austin: Pride & Prejudice
Social Manners / Gender Issues
Cofer: “The Changeling” (HO)
Chudleigh: “To the Ladies” (HO)
Mazur: “Desire” (HO)
Imagery (790-792)
Eliot: “The Winter Evening” (792)
Yeats: “The Second Coming” (982)(see also “Myth”)
Yeats: “Lake Isle…” (703)
Coleridge: “Kubla Khan” (1158)
Heaney: “Blackberry Picking” (HO) (practice essay)
Sevenson: “The Centaur” (HO) (practice essay)
AR Comprehension Test: Pride & Prejudice
Timed Essay: Pride & Prejudice. (E.g., take a
position and argue whether Pride & Prejudice is
relevant to people today.) Multiple rewrites.
Research & Essay, with MLA citation, on
biographical & historical criticism in analysis of
Pride & Prejudice.
Timed Essay: “Domby & Son” (Prompt: analyze
how Dickens’ use of language creates a vivid
image of Domby.)
View Pride & Prejudice video & discuss issues
(e.g., how the video differs from the text).
AP practice tests:
. “Blackberry Picking” (essay)
. “The Centaur” (essay)
Read & discuss model P&P essays.
Discuss imagery & social manners/gender issues
in novel & selected poetry (see left & 2nd from left
columns).
Complete AP practice test: “B”
Vocabulary Quizzes #16 & 17
Discuss/study T&N vocabulary Chs. 16 & 17
Mar.
*Miller: Death of a Salesman
Family / Personal Relationships
Tagliabue: “The Bare Arms of Trees” (HO)
Jonson: “On My First Son” (1196)
Haden: “Those Winter Sundays” (1185)
Theme (212-214)
*Baldwin: “Sonny’s Blues” (53-76)
Music
Hughes: “The Weary Blues” (1119)
Collins: “The Blues” (HO)
Lawrence: “Piano” (706)
Rilke: “From a Childhood” (HO)
AR Comprehension Test: Death of a Salesman
Timed Essay: Death of a Salesman (E.g., discuss
Willy Lowman’s tragic flaw(s) & how it/they
relate to the play as a tragedy.)
Cumulative Vocabulary Quiz #16-18
View Death of a Salesman video & discuss issues
(e.g., how the video differs from the text).
AP practice test: “Facing It” (M/C)
Read & discuss model Death of a Salesman
essays.
Discuss theme, music motif, and personal
relationship/family issues in novel, short story &
related poetry (see left & 2nd from left columns).
5
Discuss/study T&N vocabulary Ch .18
April
*Death of a Salesman (continued)
Essentially the same as above
6
4th Quarter: Apr. 11-June 17
Major Texts & Related Poetry
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
April
May
4th Quarter Theme: Intersections Between a Materialistic Society & Our Spiritual Lives: We all face the challenge of reconciling society’s
material focus and our personal spiritual needs, especially our perceptions, interests, dreams, and values. Literature can help us understand the
tension between society and our personal identity. Essential questions are: Who am I? What gives us our identity? What happens when our spiritual
and society’s materialistic sides collide? How do we make moral choices? What are good and evil?
Short Stories & Related Poetry
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
Graded Assessments
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
*Camus: The Stranger
AR Comprehension Test: The Stranger
Alienation / Existentialism
Frost: “Out, Out” (710)(narrative)
Shakespeare: “Sound & Fury” monologue
(HO)
Shakespeare: “The Stuff as Dreams…” (HO)
McFee: “Shooting Rats” (HO)
*Arnold: “Dover Beach” (1141)
Wagoner: “Lost” (HO)
Timed Essay: The Stranger (E.g., take a position
& argue whether Meursault is/is not “a monster”
& who is at fault.)
Hesse: Siddhartha (Extra Credit)
Auden: “Musee des Beaux Arts” (1146)
Steinbeck: Cannery Row (Extra Credit)
Cumulative Test: Literature Terms & Concepts
Timed Essay: “The Subway” (Prompt: discuss
character development, referring to poetic
devices, tone, imagery &/or organization)
Myth & Allusions
Yeats: “Leda & the Swan” (874)
Yeats: “Second Coming” (982)
Roberts: “Myth” (946)
“Hunting the Phoenix” (HO)
In-Class Activities
(See Notes under 1st Quarter)
AP practice tests:
. Shaw: “Cremation” (essay)
. Poe “To Science” (M/C)
. “Eros” (essay)
. “Crossing the Swamp” (essay)
Complete AP practice tests:
. “2004”
. “F”
Read & discuss model Stranger essays.
Executive Summary/Oral Presentation on novel
or play read this year
Discuss alienation & Existentialism issues in
novel & related poetry (see left column).
AP Exam (Thursday 5/8/08)
Oral presentations: Compositions
Group original composition designed to reflect
concepts of course.
Workers / Poverty
Toomer: “Reapers” (797)
Frost: “Mowing” (HO)
Fillery: “No Place Like Home” (HO)
Clifton: “Miss Rosie” (HO)
June
End of Grading Period: 6/17/08
Oral presentations: Compositions (Continued)