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ADVANCED PLACEMENT/ HONORS ENGLISH 12 Mrs.Breslin
Advanced Placement English 12, a two-semester course, is
designed for high performing senior students who intend to take
the College Board AP Examination in Literature and Composition.
The course complies with the requirements set forth in the AP
English Course Description. The course emphasizes the
development of critical reading skills to enhance the students’
oral and written analysis of imaginative and challenging
literature. While exposition and stylistic analysis are
stressed, students are encouraged to experiment with various
types of creative writing. AP English is essentially a college
level course offered to capable students, who in turn must be
willing to devote the energy and time necessary to complete this
course’s rigorous standards.
The course emphasizes literature written by masters of the
English language. An exhaustive glossary of literary terms is
presented not only to enable the students to analyze good
literature properly, but also to provide the proper vocabulary
for discussing and writing about these works. The teacher serves
as a discussion leader, critic, and scholar, encouraging the
class to assume much of the responsibility for learning.
Additionally, the course helps students develop individual
styles of writing enabling them to use language skillfully to
express an appreciation of the literary art. These unique
styles can be adapted to various occasions for writing in
college and beyond.
The AP College Examination is administered each May. Students
who pass the exam with a score of 3, 4, or 5 may earn credit for
required English courses in college. AP credit of 5.25 is given
for this course.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
UNIT ONE
The Renaissance 1500-1600/The Puritan Age 1620-1660
A.
Background information/research: In groups, students
research the Renaissance/Puritan Age using handouts outlining
the period. In addition, each person must present an analysis
of a literary selection, demonstrating how it is exemplary of
the time period and its conventions. Students must address
literary elements such as style, diction, figurative language
and tone.
B.
Teacher/student conferences regarding writing samples:
essay question from the previous year’s AP exam; timed, in
class.
C.
Poetry: Love, initiation themes, relationship with God
1. Shakespeare’s sonnets #18, 29, 30, 71, 116, 130 from
text, England in Literature
2. Robert Herrick: “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,”
p.275 England...
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3. Andrew Marvell: “to His Coy Mistress,” p.289 England…;
p.729, DL;
4. John Donne: “The Flea,” p.44 AP booklet (dramatic
monologues)
5. John Milton: “On His Having Arrived at the Age of
Twenty-Three”; contrast with “On His Blindness”,
p.293, England...
6. Dylan Thomas: “Fern Hill,” AP booklet, p.30
7. Howard Nemerov: “The Goose Fish,” AP bklt., p.34
D. Shakespeare: Hamlet - reading, analysis, writing/ study
guide, p.1271(*1045) DL p.1088
1. Video clips: Hamlet, Macbeth, or Midsummer Night’s
Dream
2. Poetry: grief/death themes, relationship with God
a.Shakespeare: Sonnet 73, p. 568(*500) DL - writing
assignment
b.17th century poets, metaphysical poets
3. John Donne, p. 278,282
England...; Holy Sonnet #10, p.
894(*659) DL, “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning;”
4.George Herbert: “The Pulley,” p. 745(*658) DL; “The
Collar” p. 1096(*801) DL
5.John Crowe Ransome: “Bells For John Whiteside’s Daughter,”
p. 726(*629) DL; “Janet Waking,” p. 918(*819) DL; p. 44 AP
booklet
6.A.E. Housman: “To An Athlete Dying Young,” p.899(*802) DL;
p.42 AP booklet
7.Emily Dickinson: “After Great Pain...,” p.804(*727)DL;
E. College essay due 8/28,29
F. Related creative project: Mock Trial or video, Hamlet: Test
& essay: 10/16,17
G. During the first semester, through weekly assignments,
students will compile a complete literary terms booklet.
UNIT TWO
A. The 17th Century and thematically related literature
1. Weisel: Night (Bantam)themes: grief, alienation,
death, anger, betrayal, relationship with God, hope.
10/23,24 (In class Reading Check-test);Final test: 11/6,7)
a. Adrienne Rich: #5 & 6 AP booklet, p.41
b. Emily Dickinson: “Hope...,” p. 559(*492), DL
c. Dylan Thomas: “Do Not Go Gentle...,” p. 713(*633), DL
d. Thomas Hardy: “The Darkling Thrush,” p. 509(*438), DL
2. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress: (Project:11/17-21;test
11/24,25)
a. Christina Rosetti: “Uphill,” p. 595(*526), DL
b. Octavio Paz: “Wind and Water and Stone,” p. 600(*528),
DL
C. Linda Pastan: “Anger,” p. 556(*502), DL
B. The Romantics 1780-1830 text-England in Literature unless
marked
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1. William Blake: “The Lamb,” p. 1062 “The Tyger,” p.751
“The Divine Image,” “A New Jerusalem,” “A Poison Tree,” p.596,
DL
2. Mary Wolstonecraft: “A Vindication of the Rights of
Women,” (essay)
3. William Wordsworth: handout of biography; “...Tintern
Abbey,” “My Heart Leaps Up,” “Ode. Intimations...”
4. Samuel Coleridge: “Kubla Khan”
5. Lord Byron: “She Walks in Beauty”
6. Percy Bysse Shelley: “Ozymandias”
7. John Keats: “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” “Bright Star,”599
8. Humanities video: The Romantics
9. Essays: style/theme analysis; Test:12/15,16
10. English Tea 12/17,18
C.
The Victorians 1830-1880
The 19th Century Novel
1.Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Sonnet 1, 43;(*608) DLallusion
2.The dramatic monologue: p. 8, 38 AP booklet
a. Robert Browning: “My Last Duchess,” p. 697(*616) DL
b. Alfred Lord Tennyson: “Ulysses,” p. 932 Eng…
c. Matthew Arnold: “Dover Beach,” p. 597(*529), DL; 613
Eng…
3.AP essay:dramatic monologue. Include the importance of
such elements as setting, diction, irony, symbolism, and tone
4.Thomas Hardy:Tess of the D’Urbervilles(Penguin)reading
check-test(1/8,9)
5.Video: Tess of the D’Urbervilles (critical analysis)
6.Outside reading: Choose an approved novel for the critical
analysis (paper)( Use the Christmas break to read this and Tess…
(Jan.8,9)
UNIT THREE
A. The Critical Analysis
1.Style: MLA, internal referencing; text: Write for College
2.Instruction using models of different schools of
criticism: historical, social, psychological, feminist,
stylistic, etc.
3.Subject: a critical analysis of the writing of any
approved writer incorporating research on literary criticisms.
4.Length: 7 pages. At least one third must be original.
(2/19,20) In order to pass the semester, a research paper must be
submitted.
B. The Twentieth Century
1.Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness (2/5,6 reading check)
themes:alienation, inhumanity, conscience, guilt,
godlessness (Final Test (obj. 2/23,24)
a. T. S. Eliot: “The Hollow Men,” p.834 Eng…
b. Philip Larkin: “Church Going”- AP bklt.; 549 DL
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c. Archibald McLeish: “Dr. Sigmund Freud Discovers the Sea
Shell,” AP booklet, p. 58
d. Stephen Crane: “The Wayfarer,” p.888(*653) DL
e. Video clips: Heart of Darkness
f. AP exam practice weekly
2.George Orwell: 1984(Signet Classic); themes:
freedom/slavery, control, truth (March 2,3)reading check; final
essay 3/16,17)
a. Howard Nemerov: “The Great Gull,” p. 724(*494), DL
b. Gerard Manley Hopkins: “The Windhover,” p. 798(*559),
DL
3.AP essays; test practice
4.Video: critical analysis
UNIT FOUR
The Twentieth Century/Recent Literature - text: Discovering Literature
A. Kate Chopin: The Awakening(Bantam);themes:alienation,
emergence;relationships(3/23,24) reading check;final essay
4/2,3)
1. Adrienne Rich: “Novella,” p. 523(*458);“Aunt Jennifer’s
Tigers,” p. 590(*531);“Diving into the Wreck,” AP
Bklt.p.59(*820 DL)
2. Emily Dickinson:“Apparently with no Surprise,”
p.565(*487)“Hope is the Thing With Feathers,"p.559 DL
3. Robert Frost: “Design,” p. 816(*739);
4. Alice Walker: “Women,” p. 760(*686)
5. Denise Levertov: “In Mind,” p. 700(*619)
6. Edna St. Vincent Millay: “Childhood is the Kingdom
Where Nobody Dies,” p. 544(*476)
B. Ralph Ellison: The Invisible Man; Honors: The Screwtape
Letters (4/14,15)reading check; final essay (4/30,5/1); themes:
discrimination; alienation; family relationships
1. May Swenson: “Question,” p. 719(*490)
2. Sylvia Plath: “Metaphors,” p. 571(*503); “Mirror,” p.
868(*620);
video
3. Denise Levertov: "To One Steeped in Bitterness," p.584
4. Lucille Clifton:“My Mama Moved Among the Days,” p.599
5. Charles Simic: “Poem,” p. 619
6. Audre Lorde: “Coal,” p. 693
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AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
REQUIRED TEXTS
AP BOOKLET: This is a teacher-produced compilation of poetry,
methods of writing, and approaches to literature. Table of Contents
showing some of the material follows.
Guth, Hans, and Rico Gabrielle. Discovering Literature. 3Rd ed.
Prentice Hall, 2003.
New Jersey:
McDonnell, Helen. Pfordresher, John, Veidemanis, Gladys (eds.): England in
Literature. Glenville, Illinois: Scott Foresman and Company, 1991.
Sebranek, Patrick; Meyer, Verne; and Kemper Dave. Write For College.
Wilmington, MA: Great Source Education Group, 1997.
Vogel, Richard, and Winans, Charles: Multiple Choice and Free-Response
Questions in Preparation For the AP English Literature and Composition
Examination. 7th ed. New York, NY: D & S Marketing Systems, Inc., 2007.
Novels listed as they appear on the syllabus
Weisel, Elie:
NIGHT. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1982.
Bunyan, John: PILGRIM’S PROGRESS. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour and Company,
Inc. (1990 reprint).
Hardy, Thomas: TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES.
(1891).
New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1992
Conrad, Joseph: HEART OF DARKNESS. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1981 (1902).
Orwell, George: 1984. New York, NY:
Chopin, Kate:
THE AWAKENING.
Signet Classic, 1950.
New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1992, (1899).
Ellison, Ralph: INVISIBLE MAN. New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 1995. (1947)
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OTHER MATERIALS AND STRATEGIES
1. Detailed study guides accompany all texts. These enable students to note important
aspects of the work and to complete a close reading. They are helpful as students work in
cooperative learning groups.
2. Teacher presentations include PowerPoint presentations on the background and style of
the works studied.
3. Many videos/DVDs help the students hear from scholars or authors as they discuss the
stylistic elements of the works.
4. Students have access to all PowerPoints, notes, links to research sites, their syllabus
including due dates for tests and projects, and other helpful resources on the teacher web
page.
5. The classroom is equipped with computers for writing, editing, and research.
6. Students submit many papers electronically; the instructor tracks changes in the document
and returns responses to students through email.
7. Classes are multi-media and directed to all learning styles.
8. As class sizes allow, a seminar approach is used to involve all students.
READING AND ANALYSIS OF LITERATURE
Students are responsible to read four of the more challenging of
their required novels over the summer. On the day each book is due
as indicated on the syllabus, a detailed reading check ensures
close reading. An energetic discussion of the literary merits of
each novel follows. Topics include the author’s life and
philosophy as they influence the text, the historical period and
how the book reflects the period, andstylistic aspects including
diction, imagery, figurative language, symbolism, structure, irony,
etc. Each unit, whether poetry or prose ends with a timed, inclass, written literary analysis of the text.
TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES
At the beginning of the year, test-taking skills for standardized
tests are reviewed. These skills are practiced on the objective
part of every test. Questions particular to the AP tests are
presented and methods of approaching them are explained. During one
unit where students present lessons on the text, a part of the
assignment includes writing a quiz consisting of AP-type multiplechoice questions in structure, approach, and content.
During the second semester, students are responsible for completing
at least one section of the multiple-choice part of an old AP exam
weekly. Answers are reviewed and discussed.
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12th Grade Reading List
12th Grade Core List
Students in ADVANCED PLACEMENT and HONORS must read all books with a
pound sign (#) during the school year (Honors, note exception:
Invisible Man) During the summer they are to read 4 of the required
(#) books. For their critical analysis (paper), they may choose any
other book EXCEPT those marked (R) from the following list.
Each regular student must read at least two books from the following
list. Additional outside reading books must be approved by the
teacher.
Title
Author
#Hamlet
Shakespeare
#Night
Weisel (Bantam)
#Pilgrim’s Progress (original)
Bunyan
#Tess of the D’Urbervilles Hardy (Penguin Classic /Amsco
Title
Author
#Heart of Darkness
Conrad (Bantam)
#1984
Orwell (Signet Classic)
#The Awakening
Chopin (Bantam Classic)
#Invisible Man (AP only)
Ellison
Great Expectations
Dickens
Six Classics by Lewis Lewis
Wuthering Heights
Bronte
Any Sigmound Brouwer (R)
Brouwer
A Tale of Two Cities
Dickens
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare
Why the Caged Bird Sings
Angelou (Bantam)
Vanity Fair
Thackeray
Pride and Prejudice
Austen
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Kesey
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Hurston or any other
Things Fall Apart
Achebe
Slaughterhouse Five
Vonnegut
Light in August
Faulkner
As I Lay Dying
Faulkner
The Stranger
Camus
Catch 22
Heller
On the Beach
Shute
Portrait of the Artist..
Joyce
Any Virginia Wolf
Rosencrantz andGuildenstern are Dead
Stoppard
Kensington Chronicles Series (R) Crow
Gulliver’s Travels
Swift
Frankenstein
Shelley
Looking Backward
Bellemy
The Way of All Flesh
Butler
Alice in Wonderland
Carroll
Celtic Crusades Series Lawhead
From Sea to Shining Sea or any title Marshall (R)
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Mill on the Floss
Eliot
Tom Jones
Fielding
Power and the Glory
Greene
Jude the Obscure
Hardy or
Return of the Native
any other Hardy
The American
James
Sons and Lovers
Lawrence
Of Human Bondage
Maugham
Paradise Lost
Milton
Any Play
Shakespeare
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Nafisi
Any Title
Dekker
Any Title
Higgs
Self Incrimination (R) Singer
LITERARY TERMS ASSIGNMENT AND CREATIVE WRITING
This is a weekly assignment over the course of ten weeks during the
first semester. Students research the terms extensively giving
examples from literature read and also presenting at least one
original example per week.
In this way, they become thoroughly
acquainted with Internet and library research of literary topics
and criticism. Including an original example encourages them to
exercise their skills in creative writing.
Writing Instruction and Assignments
As indicated on the syllabus, students respond to poetry, drama, and
each novel read after carefully explicating each text.
The year
begins with a writing sample based on a timed, on-demand response to
one of the prompts from the previous year’s AP exam. The teacher
confers individually with students to point out strengths and needs
and to assist students in formulating goals for their writing. The
essay, like all others, is graded using the AP rubric of 1-9.
All essays are preceded by instruction. The first graded essay of
the year is an actual college application essay.
Several drafts
precede the final essay and students write as many of these as are
required by the colleges.
Since students are generally strong in
exposition, literary analysis is stressed. Various approaches,
including formulaic writing, are presented by the instructor and
practiced by students. The AP Booklet, compiled by the instructor,
includes a writing formula for literary analysis as well as various
approaches to poetry and prose. Students receive a response to their
writing within a day as well as the AP score. All writing is kept
in a portfolio that has followed them from the sixth grade. In this
way, students are encouraged continually to overcome weaknesses and
improve their scores.
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The annual research paper for this course is a seven-page literary
analysis of an approved work. At least one third of the paper must
be original. In addition, students incorporate research on literary
criticisms of their work applying instruction in writing an
appropriate thesis statement, outlining, note taking, and
synthesizing research. Books recommended include those on the
English Department Reading List as well as those frequently listed
for the AP free-response question. Papers are expected to be
thoroughly edited and proofread.
GRADING
Keep up with homework, study for quizzes and tests, never neglect a
writing assignment, come prepared, be a good example by practicing
good citizenship.
GRADING: Computer averaged: homework=10%; vocab. quizzes=25%;
tests/essays=65%
Quizzes:
10 - 100 points
Tests:
100-300
Essays:
150-200
Projects: 200
Critical analysis: 100/assignment; 300 final grade
Homework:
/+=100; /=90; /-=80;