AP English
Classwork and Homework
January 5-15, 2010
X-Period for all AP Students on Tuesday, Jan. 5. This is a sample multiple choice test
from the 2007 AP Literature Exam.
Week One: Date
First session: Tuesday,
January 5 (A and F Period)
Classwork
Welcome back! Introduce
poetry unit and read some
poems. Discuss how to
analyze a poem.
Read “The Whipping” by
Robert Hayden
Second session:
Thurs., Jan. 8
(A and F Period)
Share poems, discuss
What is the difference
between poetry and prose?
Look at three poems and a
prose excerpt on the same
subject. (Norman Morrison
poems)
Discuss research paper
Third session:
Friday, Jan. 8
(F Period only)
Look at the 2007 FreeResponse question to two
poems
Week Two: Date
First session: Mon., Jan. 11
(A); Tues., Jan. 12 (F)
Classwork
Short poetry essay due
Chose research paper topic
Group work—Frost’s poem
“Out, Out”
Homework
Find a poem that you like.
This can come from your
own collection of
contemporary poetry or you
can find it online at
poets.org or poetry.com.
Print two copies, and write
down answers to questions
on one copy (see handout—
also online under ‘How to
Analyze a Poem”)
Return to the poem that you
selected to share. By next
Monday (Tues. for E
Period) write a short paper
(around 300 words) that
includes a paragraph that
explains what the poem is
about and another
paragraph or two that
identifies three means
(imagery, metaphor, sound
devices) that the poet uses.
Complete definitions for
poetry terms
See above
Homework
Begin research paper
work—do some internet
exploration to find poems
and critical articles on your
subject
Second session:
Tues., Jan. 12
(A); Thurs., Jan. 14 (F)
Transcendentalism—an
American offshoot of
Romanticism
Complete essay on “tone”
in “Thanatopsis”
Review literary terms
Read “Thanatopsis” by
William Cullen Bryant
Third session:
Thurs., Jan. 14
(A); Friday, Jan. 15 (F)
Group work (poster
projects) on 19th century
American poems (this will
take two or three class
sessions, but will be started
today)
Research paper work
Read Chapter Two in Sound
and Sense and note
important ideas. Read two
poesm on pages 30 and 31:
“There’s been a death in the
opposite house” by Emily
Dickinson” and “When in
Rome” by Mari Evans.
Choose one poem and write
a lengthy paragraph
analyzing the poet’s subject,
theme, and tone. What
attitude does the poet have
toward his subject? How
do you know?