Advanced Placement Language and Composition/American Literature:
Cultural Significance and Critical Response
We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry.
- William Butler Yeats
Rhetoric is what we have instead of omniscience.
- Ann Berthoff
Instructor: Ms. Heather Cyr
Room: 180, North Building
Email: heather.cyr@bvsd.org
School Phone: (303)453-4635 (voice mail and email are checked every school day before 8:00 a.m. and after 3p.m.)
Office Hours: Mondays from 3:05-4:05 or by appointment
Course Overview
Students in this introductory, college-level course will read and carefully analyze a broad and
challenging range of texts, deepening their awareness of rhetoric and how language functions.
Through close reading and continuous writing, students will develop their expository expertise with
a greater awareness of an author’s purpose, the needs of an audience, the demands of the subject,
and the resources of language: syntax, word choice, and tone. Course readings will feature
narrative, exploratory, expository, analytical, personal, and argumentative texts from a variety of
writers and historical contexts, allowing students to enter into multiple dialogues with authors and
authors’ cultures. Using American literature as a foundation, students will learn to weave together
essays, letters, speeches, images, and imaginative pieces of literature, creating cultural matrices,
meeting places between the young and old, the past and present, the listeners and learners.
Colorado Model Content Standards for Reading and Writing:
1. Students read and understand a variety of materials.
2. Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences.
3. Students write and speak using conventional grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation,
capitalization, and spelling.
4. Students apply thinking skills to their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.
5. Students read to locate, select, and make use of relevant information from a variety of media,
reference, and technological sources.
6. Students read and recognize literature as a record of human experience.
Texts* and Character Education Tie-Ins
▪ Into the Wild (ISBN# 0385486804) by John Krakauer: making choices & valuing identity
▪ Love Medicine (ISBN# 0060975547) by Louise Erdrich: cultural responsibility & integrity
▪ The Scarlet Letter (ISBN# 9780486280486) by Nathaniel Hawthorne: self-trust & courage
▪ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (ISBN# 0312400292) by Mark Twain: perseverance &
problem solving
▪ My Ántonia (ISBN#039575514X) by Willa Cather: fortitude & faithfulness
▪ The Glass Menagerie (ISBN# 0811214044) by Tennessee Williams: control of self & others
▪ The Great Gatsby (ISBN# 0743273567) by F. Scott Fitzgerald: loyalty & ambition
▪ Death of a Salesman (ISBN# 0140481346) by Arthur Miller: definitions of excellence
▪ Invisible Man (ISBN# 0679732764) by Ralph Ellison: search for respect
▪ Prentice Hall Literature textbook (provided and stored in class)
*Literary texts at Peak to Peak are chosen primarily for their literary and thematic merits, their importance in a spiraled
AP curriculum, and their ability to support Peak to Peak’s character education component. For more information,
please see the section on English Department Texts at www.peaktopeak.org.
Students should purchase copies of all texts for the class. Scholarship money for these books is available for
those who need it (please talk to Ms. Force or Mr. Fontana). Critical reading requires that students read with
a pencil in hand; owning the books allows students to make notes, mark passages, and record questions.
Course Planner
First Quarter (August 18 - October 16, 2009):
Unit One: Mapping Ideas: Writing to Inform & Explain
Essential Question: What does it mean to be an “American hero”?
Texts: Into the Wild, excerpts from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at
Tinker Creek
Assessments: writing pre-assessment: argumentative timed essay, literary terms test
Unit Two: Colliding Cultures: Writers as Emissaries
Essential Question: How are the stories we tell revealing of our truth?
Texts: Love Medicine, Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds,” images of and by Native Americans,
“Black Elk Speaks,” excerpts from Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony and Kent Nerburn’s
Neither Wolf Nor Dog, postmodern art
Assessments: argumentative timed essay
Second Quarter (October 19 – December 18, 2009):
Unit Three: What does it all mean: Writing as Multi-Layered
Essential Question: How does writing stigmatize and/or empower?
Texts: The Scarlet Letter, Anne Bradstreet’s poem “On the Burning of Our House,” Jonathan
Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay
“The American Scholar,” Transcendentalist paintings, Calvin and Hobbes comics, scenes
from both the 1926 and 1995 film adaptations of The Scarlet Letter
Assessments: Motif Museum
Unit Four: Debating Culture: Writing to Advocate & Persuade
Essential Questions: How does language combat and/or reinforce stereotypes?
Texts: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (finish reading over Thanksgiving break), “Born to Trouble:
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” documentary (1999), Mark Twain’s essay “Two Views of
the Mississippi”
Assessments: rhetorical analysis timed essay, social commentary: Youth Radio’s “What’s the New
What?”
Third Quarter (January 5 – March 12, 2010):
Unit Five: Rhetorical Records: Writing to Remember & Express Identity
Essential Question: How does one’s past influence one’s present identity? How does memory build
structure? (How) do language and photographs help us invent truth?
Texts: My Ántonia (finish reading over winter break), The Glass Menagerie, Donald Murray’s article
“The Stranger in the Photo is Me,” E.B. White’s short story “Once More to the Lake,”
Annette Kuhn’s “Remembrance: The Child I Never Was,” Annie Dillard’s essays “The Death
of a Moth” and “How I Wrote the Moth Essay – And Why”, scenes from The Broadway
Theater Archive’s 1973 version of The Glass Menagerie
Assessments: memoir, argumentative timed essay
Unit Six: Envisioning Dreams: Writing versus Reality
Essential Question: Is the “American Dream” alive and well today?
Texts: The Great Gatsby, Horatio Alger myth, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button,” Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller’s essay “Tragedy and the Common Man,”
scenes from the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby as well as two adaptations of
Death of a Salesman from 1966 and 1985
Assessments: tone test, synthesis timed essay
Fourth Quarter (March 15 – May 26, 2010):
Unit Seven: Voice & Visibility: Writing & Speaking as Affirmation
Essential Questions: What does it mean to be (in)visible? How does voice affect visibility?
Texts: Invisible Man (finish reading over spring break), excerpts from Dostoevsky’s Notes from
Underground, scenes from Monty Python’s “Flying Circus” and “Office Space,” This
American’s Life’s documentary “Flight versus Invisibility,” Brent Staples’ essay “Black Men
and Public Spaces,” Sylvia Plath’s poem “Mushrooms,” Wallace Stevens’s poem “Thirteen
Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” Harriet McBryde Johnson’s essay “Unspeakable
Conversations or How I Spent One Day as a Token Cripple at Princeton University,” Joe
Kort’s “Coming Out Day: A Letter to the Past,” Sojourner Truth’s speech “Aren’t I a
Woman?”, Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named
Maria,” Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education,” Harlem Renaissance writers, modern art,
existentialists philosophers
Assessments: rhetorical analysis timed essay
Unit Eight: Self-Searching: Writing to Frame Beliefs
Essential Question: What personal philosophies and core values guide your daily life?
Texts: example essays from NPR’s “This I Believe” and sample interviews from “America Talks:
The StoryCorps” oral history project
Assessments: “This I Believe” presentation (presented on the day of the final) & written reflection
** Supplementary texts are subject to change based on the needs of the students and/or the class.**
Expectations for Behavior
Impeccable academic honesty is expected. Cheating, plagiarism or other forms of dishonesty are strictly
prohibited and will result in possible expulsion from the class as well as the penalties outlined in the student
handbook.
Mutual respect, compassion, and support for all members of the class are critical to creating an environment
in which students feel comfortable asking questions and taking risks. All members of the class are expected
to model this behavior, as will the instructor. No racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise prejudiced
comments or attitudes will be tolerated. This classroom must be a place where everyone feels respected and
safe, regardless of one’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, belief systems, abilities or
disabilities.
Daily Supplies
Please bring the following supplies to class every day:
▪ standard notebook paper (white, lined 8 ½ x 11”)
▪ writing utensils
▪ 2009-2010 Peak to Peak Writer’s and Reader’s Handbooks (provided in class)
▪ text(s) and/or work needed for class that day
▪ a folder or three-ring binder with pockets to keep handouts and work in progress (to facilitate
reviewing for the AP exam, it’s imperative that you clean out this folder or binder after every unit and store
these papers in an easy-to-locate locale at home)
Late Work, Tardiness and Unexcused Absences
To help students manage their time and to maintain the rigorous pace of our class, deadlines for assignments
are strict. For work to be on time, it must be turned in at the beginning of class. Finding it in a notebook
eight minutes into class or printing it later during study hall will not be rewarded with full credit! (Please do
not email Ms. Cyr an assignment to print out; assessments are announced well in advance, giving students
ample time to work through any computer, printer, or email snafus.) Late daily homework assignments will
receive a maximum of 50% credit except in the case of an excused absence (see below). A blank in the grade
book means the assignment has not yet been graded. An “M” in the gradebook means the assignment is
missing/overdue and calculates as a zero in the gradebook. Any work not turned in on time will receive an
“M” until the assignment is made up. All assignments are integral components in the learning process; it is
always better to turn in late work than to turn in no work at all; however, late work will only be accepted for
partial credit within the scope of that unit (for example, work related to the Huck Finn unit will not be
accepted after the culminating assessment has been completed and we’ve moved on to the next unit, My
Ántonia). Within the scope of a unit, students may also have the opportunity to retake certain assessments;
however, this privilege will be determined at the instructor’s discretion.
Students should never come to class tardy. Being on time does not mean slipping through the door as the
bell rings; it means being in the assigned seat and working on the day’s anti-set. Repeated tardiness will
result in a phone call home and a referral to the dean for disciplinary action.
Any student with an unexcused absence will be assigned to mandatory office hours and will be referred to
the dean for disciplinary action. In the interest of striving for academic mastery, work missed as a result of
the unexcused absence must be turned in, although academic credit will not be given. Multiple unexcused
absences will result in disciplinary action and loss of course credit.
Excused Absences
Preplanned absences place a significant burden on the student and should be avoided. Students who miss
class due to illness are allowed two calendar days per absence to turn in late work (for example, work
originally due on Tuesday would be due Thursday). Arrangements should be made to make up tests and
quizzes within that period of time as well. If an assessment isn’t made up within that period of time, the
student will be assigned to office hours. When possible, students who are absent are expected to keep up
with the class by calling classmates and checking both the classwork and homework listed online.
Additionally, upon returning to class, it is their responsibility to retrieve any handouts from the “While You
Were Gone” binder in the classroom (the due date is contingent on when they return to class, not when they
decide to check the binder!). In the event of a preplanned absence such as a doctor’s appointment or a
college visit, students are expected to find out their assignments in advance, and be prepared to turn them in
to Ms. Cyr’s “Inbox” on the front table directly upon returning to class. (Note: Students need to plan ahead,
as Ms. Cyr will not sign a pass from the counseling office on the day of a college visit.) Any work not
turned in on time will receive an “M” until the assignment is made up, and will calculate in the gradebook as
a temporary zero. Missing school on a block day (Wednesday or Thursday) is the equivalent of missing two
days worth of instruction.
Grading
As this is a college-level course, performance expectations are appropriately high, and the workload is
challenging. Students are expected to commit to a minimum of five hours of coursework per week outside of
class. Often, work involves long-term writing and reading assignments, so effective time management is
important. Because of the demanding curriculum, students must bring to the course sufficient command of
writing conventions and an ability to read and discuss prose.
Daily homework and classwork make up 30% of the semester grade. Projects, culminating assessments and
quizzes make up 70% of the overall grade. The percentages then translate into letter grades on report cards.
Final grades are given at the end of each semester and determine credit for the course. Semesters are not
averaged together and the grade book is cleared at the beginning of the second semester. Five English credits
are awarded for each semester where a student has earned 70% or better in the course. Students earning
below 70% for a given semester will need to make up those credits in summer school to graduate on time.
To graduate from Peak to Peak, students must earn a total of forty English credits (eight semesters).
Timed essays are graded on the 0-9 AP scale and then translated into the following percentages in IC:
9 points = 100%
8 points = 94%
7 points = 88%
6 points = 82%
5 points = 76%
4 points = 70%
3 points = 64%
2 points = 58%
1 point = 52%
Parent/Guardian Responsibilities
For students to do well in a course as rigorous as AP Language and Composition/American Literature, they
need the loving help and active support of the adult(s) in their homes. To help ensure student success,
parents/guardians are expected to take responsibility for the following items:
▪ Recognize that your son/daughter has elected to take a college level course which requires more
commitment than many other classes.
▪ Support your son/daughter in completing course work on time by checking both homework and
grades online.
▪ Recognize that much of the required out-of-class work is college-level reading with mature,
college-level content.
▪ Contact Ms. Cyr when you need additional information or have essential information to impart.
Please communicate (via phone, email, conferences, and office hours) to help us work
together.
▪ Ask your son/daughter to identify and defend a position on a particular text during dinner-table
conversations. (It will only help them prepare for the AP test, which all students are
expected to take on Wednesday, May 12th at 8AM!)
I look forward to seeing you at the Secondary Back-To-School Night (Thursday, September 10th) as well as
at Secondary Parent/Student/Teacher conferences (Thursday, September 24th and Friday, September 25th)!
Please return to Ms. Cyr
_________________________ and I carefully read and discussed each section of the syllabus.
(Print name of student)
If you wish, you may use the space below to share any comments.
_______________________
Parent/Guardian Signature
_________________________
Student Signature
_______________________
Contact Phone Number
_________________________
Contact Email Address
____________
Date