Advanced Placement Literature and Composition
La Habra High School
Marketing and Business Academy Senior Level Course
Instructor: Brian Johnson
TeachMeMrJohnson@gmail.com
(562) 266 - 5013
Overview
Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition is designed to comply
with the curricular requirements described in the AP English Course Description.
The course prepares students for the AP exam and for college reading, writing,
and research. The rigor reflects that of a college-level course.
The course content is divided into the areas of poetry, drama, novel, and
composition. Short fiction is taught in the context of practice AP exam essays.
The course is divided into small units rather than spending nine consecutive
weeks on a genre. Thus, the first semester introduces the areas of study, and the
second semester requires an in-depth study of those areas.
Literature
Students on our campus study several American novels and plays their junior
year. In this course, seniors study American, British and world literature including
plays, novels, short stories and poetry.
Tragedy
Shakespeare’s King Lear
Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark
Satire and Comedy
Heller’s Catch-22
Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
Surrealism and Existentialism
Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
Camus’s The Stranger
American Literature
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye
Theater
William’s A Streetcar Named Desire
Ibsen’s A Doll’s House
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Poetry
Selections from Perrine’s Sound and Sense
Short Stories
Selections from Literature & Composition Anthology
Writing
The course makes students better writers. Students study a model essay and
rubric before beginning an assignment. For class discussion and editing
exercises, the instructor pulls several good and bad sentences from student
drafts, giving students immediate feedback and an opportunity to revise before
turning in a final draft.
Vocabulary
Referring to a list of 200 verbs used in academic discourse, students revise drafts
to eliminate ineffective verbs (e.g. is, shows). Referring to a list of 300 tone words
and definitions, students revise style analysis essays to replace superficial words
(e.g. sad, angry) with more specific words (e.g. solemn, petulant). The focus on
tone vocabulary helps students identify complementary yet contrasting tone
phrases (e.g. apprehensive delight; pleasant arrogance). The instructor reads
and returns first draft essays showing students how to revise thesis statements to
incorporate accurate tone vocabulary. The instructor or peers also will highlight
weak vocabulary (especially verbs) on rough drafts, allowing students to revise
essays before the final drafts are submitted. Students maintain a personal
vocabulary list on which they record term, definition, and context of at least 25
unfamiliar words each quarter. Unfamiliar words are recorded and studied from
literature, literary criticism, and practice AP multiple-choice exams.
Projects
Primary Work
In preparation for the AP exam, students select a novel or play that serves as a
primary work. Components of the in-depth project for the primary work include
 Reading and annotating the text
 Analyzing the literature through critical lenses (feminist, historicalbiographical, moral-philosophical, mythological-archetypal,
psychological)
 Writing ten thesis statements based on previous AP prompts
 Memorizing 100 words of the text
Allusion Project
Students are required, in groups, to demonstrate their knowledge of allusion. The
teacher will assign a group of characters, people, and places, commonly
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alluded to in literature for study. The students will teach this information to the
class.
Grading
Grading reflects an emphasis on writing.
 Essays: Most essays are scored using the Advanced Placement 1-9 rubric.
Papers that score in the 5-9 range will earn an A first semester. Papers that
score in the 6-9 range will earn an A second semester.
 Tests and Quizzes: Non-essay tests and reading quizzes
 Daily assignments (i.e.: annotations, discussion questions, reading logs,
class participation)
 Projects
Semester One
Unit 1—Discuss Summer Assignments and College Application Essay (1 week)
(Part A) Students discuss the summer questions for their summer reading
Focus: introduction to three types of literary criticism: feminist, historicalbiographical, and Marxist
Focus: introduction to three types of literary criticism: new criticism, readerresponse, and moral-philosophical
Focus: narrative strategies, clarity, and voice
Model: sample theme statements and thesis statements for summer reading
Writing: brief analyses of summer reading based on these three critical theories
(Part B) Students discuss the summer questions for summer reading and share
their personal response to the novel. Lecture focuses on strategies for writing
theme statements.
Writing: literary analysis essay based on previous AP exam prompts
Writing: at least one 500-word personal essay; students attend a mandatory
writing conference with the instructor before turning in the final draft
Unit 2— Fiction Boot Camp (3 weeks)
Students will study the major elements of fiction (Plot, Character, Setting, Point of
View, Symbolism, Theme, Style, Tone and Irony) through an intensive study of
short stories.
Focus: plot, character, setting, point of view, symbolism, theme, style, tone, irony
Writing: one 25-minute evaluation essay
Unit 3—Introduction to Poetry (DIDLS and TP-CASTT) (2 weeks)
Small groups read and discuss poems as they relate to style. The unit starts with
an activity on tone, which includes lists of tone words and definitions. Students
study and write examples of complementary yet contrasting tone phrases. The
unit includes an overview of DIDLS (diction, imagery, detail, language, syntax).
Discussion returns to one controlling question: How does style affect tone?
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Focus: diction, imagery, detail, syntax and tone in:
Viereck’s Vale from Carthage
Bishops’s One Art
Hardy’s The Man He Killed
Fanthorpe’s Not my Best Side
Rich’s Storm Warnings
Focus: introduce Poetry Response Assignment which asks students to read
poetry on a weekly basis and respond to one of those poems each week.
Model: sample TP-CASTT analysis and style analysis essay for Viereck’s Vale from
Carthage
Writing: TP-CASTT and style analysis essay for Rich’s Storm Warnings
Writing: free response to poetry from Poetry Response Assignment
Unit 6—Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (3 weeks)
Students read and annotate for homework during the poetry unit. There are two
reading quizzes.
Focus: loss of innocence; point of view, tone
Model: student poetry essays from the previous unit
Writing: style analysis essay
Unit 7—Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (9 weeks)
As most students are familiar with Hamlet, the study of the play focuses on its
ambiguity. Major speeches and scenes are studied with directorial eyes.
Students memorize and perform scenes from the play. Focus on incorporating
evidence and citing Shakespeare.
Focus: close reading of Shakespeare’s King Lear
Focus: ambiguity, tone, theatrical conventions, author’s intent, use of language,
imagery, performance
Project: Students, in teams, will present a memorized, blocked and wellproduced ten-minute scene from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. (This is the final for the
first semester)
Writing: style analysis essay
Unit 8—Poetry & Short Stories (Runs concurrent with Unit 7)
Using the DIDLS and TP-CASTT techniques, students continue their study of poetry
with an emphasis on Donne. Test includes identifying meter and explicating the
effects of sound devices.
Focus: setting, character, symbol and theme in Porter’s The Grave
Focus: sound, meter, form and allusion
Focus: voice and point of view
Model: comparison essay from 2001 AP exam, Wordsworth’s “London, 1802” and
Dunbar’s “Douglass”
Writing: poetry comparison essay
Writing: detailed TP-CASTT analysis of four poems
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Semester Two
***OVER WINTER BREAK***
Unit 1— William’s A Streetcar Named Desire (1 week)
Students will read the play and prepare a Major Work Data Page and prepare
for discussion based on the themes of the play.
Writing: analysis essay from previous AP exam
Unit 2—Kafka’s Metamorphosis (2 weeks)
After reading and discussing the book, small groups select one critical lens with
which to analyze the book. Groups research literary criticism from six critical
lenses: feminist, historical-biographical, Marxist, moral-philosophical,
mythological-archetypal, and psychological. The group project synthesizes
research and primary source analysis.
Unit 3—Satire (3 weeks)
Students analyze several pieces of satire. Test covers identifying the effects of
irony, diction, puns, malapropisms, understatement, exaggeration, and
juxtaposition.
Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest serves as a model for the comedy of
manners. Discussion focuses on wit and malapropism. After studying the sample
essays based on the 2004 AP prompt “The Pupil,” students analyze character,
detail, point of view, diction and syntax in passages from Wilde’s Lady
Windermere’s Fan, Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, and Austen’s Persuasion.
Heller’s Catch-22 targets social class and abuse of power. Discussion focuses on
characterization, symbolism, and absurdity. Test requires students analyze short
passages, explaining how the writer’s techniques convey satire and theme.
Writing: timed-analysis essay from previous AP exam
Unit 4—Camus’s The Stranger (3 weeks)
Students read and annotate the text. Discussion focuses on characterization,
absurdism and existentialism.
Focus: imagery
Model: style analysis essay on part one’s first chapter
Writing: style analysis essay on part one’s final chapter
Unit 5—Poetry Review (2 Weeks)
Students read and answer questions for selected poems.
Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” Keats “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” Coleridge’s “Rime of
the Ancient Mariner” Frost’s “Out, Out—, ” “Design,” “Acquainted with the
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Night,” “Home Burial” Dickinson’s “I heard a fly buzz when I died,” “Because I
could not stop for Death,” “We grow accustomed to the Dark,” “Title Divine is
Mine”
Model: previous AP prompt and sample essays for comparison of Dickinson’s
“We grow accustomed to the Dark” and Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night”
Essay: compare tone, imagery, and structure of Cullen’s “Yet Do I Marvel” with
XTC’s “Dear God”
***OVER SPRING BREAK***
Unit 6— Iben’s A Doll’s House (2 weeks)
Students will read the play and prepare a Major Work Data Page and prepare
for discussion based on the themes of the play.
Writing: analysis essay from previous AP exam
Unit 7—Final AP Exam preparation (1 week)
Students take a full practice multiple-choice exam and choose one prose essay
prompt from among the following: Oates’s We Were the Mulvaneys, Dickens’s
Hard Times, and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Unit 8—Prose Style Analysis (1 week)
Students study terms and concepts that might be encountered on the prose
essay section of the AP exam. Quiz requires students identify and explain the
effects of point of view, details, and syntax.
Writing: prose style analysis essay from previous AP exam
AP Exam – English Literature and Composition (Wednesday, May 6, 2015)
Students will take the AP Exam.
Unit 9—Meaning of Life Analysis
Using Blessing and Tudico’s Movies and the Meaning of Life: Philosopher’s Take
on Hollywood, students will analyze contemporary film and how it connects to
previously read works. Students will look at tone and directorial voice (via
imagery, style, context, etc.) to demonstrate how those elements communicate
the meaning of the work as a whole.
Project: Students, in teams, will find an example of a contemporary film that can
be connected to the texts (plays, novels, short stories, and poetry) we have
analyzed this year. Students will compare and contrast the film to the text using
the DIDLS and TP-CASTT model of interpretation.
Writing: evaluative essay
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