English 12 Syllabus
Community Christian Academy
Instructor: Jessica Lanier
Office Hours: planning periods 3 and 6 and by appointment after school
THE COURSE
Students will demonstrate the ability to make connections to texts, respond to literature; compose
in a variety of literary forms (i.e., nonfiction narrative, poetry, drama, fiction, essay, etc.)
appropriate to audience an d purpose; control language through conventions of English; and
demonstrate ability to evaluate content, organization and language in texts
This syllabus shows you what we will do in class each day; the reading assignments should be
completed each day before coming to class. Take your texts home consistently so that you can
complete the reading assignments if class is canceled or if you are absent; your ability to
participate is seriously hampered if you have not finished the reading for that day or if you fail to
bring your text to class.
HOMEWORK AND PREPARATION
In order to be successful in this class, you will come to class every day prepared to work with the
text assigned the day before. Discussing varying aspects of literature, including style and
structure, will be a daily practice. In preparation for these discussions, you will often be asked to
complete written homework to accompany your reading homework. Plan on doing some reading
and writing every night.
FORMAL ASSESSMENTS AND WRITING TASKS
In addition to written homework, you will complete a number of significant assessments in
response to, or inspired by, what we read. These varied assignments are intended to help you
comprehend, analyze and evaluate the texts we read. You will need to master all three of these
purposes of writing in order to become an effective critical reader of texts. On occasion, you will
have the opportunity to rewrite and resubmit writing assignments you have completed after
conferencing with the instructor. Conferences will address issues in your writing such as idea
development and argumentation, organizational choices, sentence structure and variety, and
appropriate word choice.
IN-CLASS ASSESSMENTS
Over the course of the year you will complete a number of in-class (timed) essays. Each time,
we will discuss and debrief the prompt and quality of responses. You can expect constructive
feedback for all in-class essays. At times, we will examine anchor papers (student exemplars) in
order to identify elements of excellent writing. Similarly, we will periodically practice answering
multiple choice questions, followed by a discussion of the test items. Some of these practices
will be informal, while others will be graded for credit. Students will also be asked to keep a
journal (composition notebook) and will do short writing exercises once per week.
Classroom rules for conduct:
Students will be RESPECTFUL
Student will be RESPONSIVE
Student will be RESPONSIBLE
*Other rules at Teacher's discretion
Students are also expected to abide by all policies in the CCA Student Handbook at all times.
Course Objectives:
After completing English 12 students will be able to:
 analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques;
 apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing;
 create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience;
 write for a variety of purposes;
 produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions;
 demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings;
 demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources;
 move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review;
 write thoughtfully about their own process of composition;
 revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience;
 analyze image as text; and evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched
papers
Late Assignments Policy:
Students are expected to turn in assignments and projects in a timely manner. Late assignments
and projects will be graded at teacher's discretion. Generally, late assignments will be penalized
10% of the total point value per day late. However, the instructor reserves the right to refuse late
work if the student abuses this policy.
Homework Policy:
Students are expected to turn in homework in a timely manner. Homework will be graded at
teacher’s discretion. All major assignments and projects should be typed and printed on printer
paper.
Make-up Work:
In order to receive maximum points, make-up work must be completed PROMPTLY!!!!!
It is
the responsibility of the student to check with the teacher and to complete all work within three
days. After three days, missing work is subject to be deemed as 0%.
Tardy Policy:
Students are expected to be on time for class every day. Students who are late to class three
times will receive detention.
Supplies:
Supplies required for AP English Literature and Composition include:
-Composition book (Marble/black and white)
-2-inch 3 ring binder
-Notebook paper
-Pencils and Ink Pens
-Highlighters
-Other supplies as noted by the instructor on particular assignments
Grading Policy:
Students will be graded on the following elements:
Homework 25%
Participation 5%
Tests, Projects, and Major Assignments 50%
In-Class Assignments/Journal Exercises 20%
The Semester Grade will be 80% Class-work grade and 20% Semester Exam.
The Final Course Grade will be 50% First Semester Grade and 50% Second Semester.
Extra Credit Opportunities: Students may be given opportunities throughout the semester in
which to earn extra credit by doing additional assignments. The value of these assignments will
vary and any additional points received will be averaged into the Class-work Grade.
Nine week, semester, and final grades will be represented as letter grades according to the
following grade scale:
93-100 A
85-92 B
77-84 C
70-76 D
0-69 F
Major Texts
Arp, Thomas R. and Greg Johnson, eds. Perrine’s Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense. 8th ed.
Boston:
Thomson, 2002.
Brontë, Charlotte, and Joyce Carol Oates. Jane Eyre. Toronto: Bantam, 1987. Print.
Conrad, Joseph, and Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness; And, The Secret Sharer. New York:
Signet Classic, 1997.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, Jessie Senior Coulson, and George Gibian. Crime and Punishment: The
Coulson Translation, Backgrounds and Sources, Essays in Criticism. New York: Norton,
1989.
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel. New York: HarperFlamingo, 1998.
Wilder, Thornton. Our Town. New York: Avon, 1975.
Other supplemental material as needed
Schedule
Week 1:
August 8 (Th)
August 9 (F)
Week 2:
August 12(M)
August 13(T)
August 14 (W)
August 15 (Th)
August 16 (F)
Week 3:
August 19 (M)
August 20 (T)
August 21 (W)
August 22 (Th)
August 23 (F)
Introduction/Syllabus/Summer Reading Assignments/ Supplies/Questions
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” (Students will view a copy of this
painting and list what they see, how it is presented, and why they think the
artist made that decision; this assignment parallels the process for literary
analysis.) Discussion of Major Work Data Sheet Assignments (Students
prepare a data sheet that highlights a work’s plot, significance of selected
quotations, characters’ roles and significance, the significance of opening
and closing scenes, symbols, and themes. Historical and biographical
information are also included.)
Assignment: “The Closing of the American Book” (This essay will be
basis of class discussion on benefits of reading.)
Poetry Response Assignment (Each week students choose one poem from
a list of 10-15 poems and write a one-page typed response that may be an
analysis, reader response, or combination of both. These should be
written in the composition notebook and due every Friday)
“The Closing of the American Book” discussion
College Application Essay Assignment (Essay #3) (Explanation of
personal narrative with samples)
Rhetorical Triangle
College Application Essay Assignment continued
Levels of Questions: Literal, Inferential, and Evaluative/”The Chaser”
(handout)
Fiction Introduction, Perrine P. 49
“Point of View,” Perrine, 238-245
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” Perrine, 272 (How does point of view
relate to theme?)
“Plot,” Perrine, 107-115
“Interpreters of Maladies,” 147-167 (How does plot relate to theme?)
Summer Reading Literary Circles (Using Harvey Daniels’ techniques,
students will assume roles of literary luminary, researcher, word wizard,
passage master, etc. for group discussions of summer reading.)
Free Reading Day
Free Reading Day
Resume How-To
Resume How-To
In-class reading: Bring Perrine to class
“Irony,” Perrine, 337-342 (How does irony relate to theme?)
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Perrine, 495
“Characterization,” Perrine, 168-173 (How does characterization
relate to theme?)
“Everyday Use,” Perrine, 173
“Hunters in the Snow” 187
“Theme,” Perrine, 203-210
“A Worn Path,” Perrine, 233 (theme)
Week 4:
August 26 (M)
August 27 (T)
August 28 (W)
August 29 (Th)
August 30 (F)
Week 5:
September 2 (M)
September 3 (T)
September 4 (W)
September 5 (Th)
September 6 (F)
Week 6:
September 9 (M)
September 10 (T)
September 11 (W)
September 12 (Th)
September 13 (F)
Week 7:
September 16 (M)
September 17 (T)
Writing Workshop: Essay #1 (Organization, details, transitions)
Assign Essay #2 : Literary Analysis (Students will choose one literary
technique—point of view, plot, irony, or characterization--and one short
story to explain how that technique contributes to a theme of the short
story.)
Discussion: August 23 Perrine assignment
Introduction: Jane Eyre and Charlotte Brontë (Background material on
Brontë, Victorian period and status of women writers, the novel genre,
and frame story)
Reading day: Jane Eyre
Essay #2 due (Point of view, plot, irony, or characterization and
relationship to theme)
Labor Day
“A Jury of Her Peers” Perrine, 406 “Where Are You Going, Where
Have You Been” (Handout)
Midterm Resume due
Prose passage close-reading test #1(syntax, tone, vocabulary)
Reading day
Jane Eyre: Chapters 1-5; discussion
Prose passage close-reading test #2 (argumentation, main idea,
vocabulary)
Writing an In-class Essay (Literary analysis: claim, concrete detail,
commentary; time management)
Jane Eyre Major Works Data Sheet Assignment
Writing Workshop: Essay #2 (Thesis statement, topic sentences,
support, transitions, conclusion)
Essay #3 due: College application essay
Jane Eyre: Chapters 6-15; discussion
September 18 (W)
September 19 (Th)
September 20 (F)
Week 8:
September 23 (M)
September 24 (T)
September 25 (W)
September 26 (Th)
September 27 (F)
Week 9:
September 30 (M)
October 1 (T)
October 2 (W)
October 3 (Th)
October 4(F)
Prose passage close-reading test #3 (figurative language, tone,
characterization, vocabulary)
Read “Eveline” Perrine, p. 218 In-class essay #4
(1972/”Eveline”/elements of fiction that prepare reader for Eveline’s
decision)
Reading day
Prose passage close-reading test #4 (rhetorical devices, pronounantecedent agreement, vocabulary)
Prose passage close-reading test #5 (characterization, comparisoncontrast, imagery, juxtaposition, satire)
Reading day
Jane Eyre: Chapters 16-25; discussion
Prose passage close-reading test #6 (vocabulary, syntax, inference)
Writing Workshop: Essay #4 (Rubric review and revision for final grade)
“Eleven” (Handout) In-class essay #5 (1995/”Eleven”/literary techniques/
characterization)
Jane Eyre: Chapters 26-34; discussion
Prose passage close-reading test #7 (characterization, repetitive phrases,
theme, vocabulary)
Writing workshop: Essay #5 (Dialogue, repetition, syntax, imagery,
diction, structure, point of view)
Second Quarter
Week 10:
October 14 (M)
October 15 (T)
October 16 (W)
October 17(Th)
October 18 (F)
Week 11:
October 21 (M)
October 22 (T)
October 23 (W)
In-class essay #6: Jane Eyre (1991/ Contrasting places/ theme or
1992/how confidant functions)
Writing workshop: Essay #3 (Review of rhetorical triangle, controlling
tone, establishing voice, and revision)
Final Discussion of Jane Eyre (Family relationships, romantic or ill-fated
love, revenge, and nature versus civilization; themes)
Group Planning: Jane Eyre presentations (Groups will present different
schools of criticism--psychoanalytic, feminist, deconstruction, Marxist,
and cultural—as approaches to a study of Jane Eyre.)
Group Planning: Jane Eyre presentations
Prose passage close-reading test #8 (syntax, allusion, tone, metaphor,
vocabulary)
Writing Workshop: Essay #6 (Organization, support, theme)
Jane Eyre presentations
October 24 (Th)
October 25 (F)
Week 12:
October 28 (M)
October 29 (T)
October 30 (W)
October 31 (Th)
November 1 (F)
Week 13:
November 4 (M)
November 5 (T)
November 6 (W)
November 7 (Th)
November 8 (F)
Week 14:
November 11 (M)
November 12 (T)
November 13 (W)
November 14 (Th)
November 15 (F)
Week 15:
November 18 (M)
November 19 (T)
November 20 (W)
Schools of criticism essay #1 assignment—for next quarter. (Students will
select a school of criticism and then write an essay on “Little Red Cap”
based on that approach.) Jane Eyre Film
Jane Eyre film
Test on Jane Eyre and critical approaches to Jane Eyre; Jane Eyre
MWDS due
“The Lady with the Dog” Perrine, 467 and “The Lady with the Pet Dog”
Perrine, 555. In-class essay #2—for next quarter (2004, characterization,
tone, and point of view)
Writing Workshop: Essay #1: Little Red Cap/Schools of Criticism due
(Peer revisions/assessments; subordination and coordination)
Heart of Darkness Introduction (Background information on Conrad,
imperialism, frame story) As You Read Assignment (Students look for
details, images, symbolism, conflict that will be basis of discussion after
book is read.)
Reading Day
Heart of Darkness: Part I
Heart of Darkness: Part I: discussion
Writing Workshop: Essay #2 (In-class peer response revisions:
organization, support, thesis statement, topic sentences, and transitions)
Heart of Darkness: Part II:
Heart of Darkness: Part II: discussion
Heart of Darkness: Part III
Heart of Darkness: Part III discussion
Achebe’s “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”
Heart of Darkness Inner-Outer Circle Seminar (Students will respond to
level-two and level-three questions from other students.)
Writing Workshop #3: (Student groups will plan thesis statements and
outlines for 5different prompts for Heart of Darkness essays: 1972, First
chapter; 1991, Contrasting places; 1994, character who appears briefly;
1996, spiritual reassessment in ending; 2000, mystery and investigation)
In-class essay #4: Heart of Darkness (Students will have one prompt
from Tuesday’s group work.)
Midterm Test: Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness MWDS due
Writing Workshop: Essay #4 (Peer revision; students will then have
option to rewrite essays.)
November 21 (Th)
Poisonwood Bible Introduction (Kingsolver background information;
point of view; parallels to imperialism and contemporary world
situations)
Literary Devices Assignment (Students will find 12 examples of literary
terms from this novel; they will turn in the definition, the example, and a
discussion of its function.)
November 22 (F)
Poisonwood Bible Book 1
Week 16:
November 25 (M)
November 26 (T)
Poisonwood Bible Book 1
Poisonwood Bible Book 1discussion
November 27 (W)
November 28 (Th)
November 29 (F)
No School
No School
No School
Week 17:
December 2 (M)
December 3 (T)
December 4 (W)
December 5 (Th)
December 6 (F)
Poisonwood Bible Book 2 discussion
Poisonwood Bible Book 3
Poisonwood Bible Book 3disucssion
Poisonwood Bible Book 4
Poisonwood Bible Book 4 discussion
Week 18:
December 9 (M)
December 10 (T)
December 11 (W)
December 12 (Th)
December 13 (F)
Poisonwood Bible Book 5
Poisonwood Bible Book 5 discussion
Poisonwood Bible Book 6
Poisonwood Bible Book 6 discussion
Semester Review
Third Quarter
Week 19:
January 6 (M):
January 7 (T):
January 8 (W):
January 9 (Th):
January 10 (F):
Poisonwood Bible Book 7 Discussion
Poisonwood Bible Discussion
Poisonwood Bible Seminar (Students will have 8 minutes to prepare
responses and textual support for an essential question; after the initial
student response, all others must build upon or connect to the previous
one. Textual support must accompany each response.)
Poisonwood Bible MWDS due Poisonwood Bible Test
TP-CASTT (Students will use this technique for analyzing poetry)
(Introduction to metaphysical poetry, metaphysical conceit, and
Petrarchan conceit)
John Donne: Perrine: “The Apparition,” 889; “Batter My Heart,” 840;
“The Canonization,” 1000; “Death, Be Not Proud,” 971
Week 20:
January 13 (M):
January 14 (T):
January 15 (W):
January 16 (Th):
January 17 (F):
Week 21:
January 20 (M):
January 21 (T):
January 22 (W):
January 23 (Th):
January 24 (F):
Week 22:
January 27 (M):
January 28 (T):
January 29 (W):
January 30 (Th):
January 31 (F):
Week 23:
February 3 (M):
February 4 (T):
February 5 (W):
February 6 (Th):
John Donne: “Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness,” 825; “Song, Go
and Catch a Falling Star,”1041; “The Sun Rising,” 831; “A Valediction:
Forbidding Mourning,” 901.
In-class essay #1: John Donne (1995: “The Broken Heart”)
Writing Workshop: Essay #4 (Focus: using AP reading rubrics)
Writing Workshop: (Student groups will score student essays using
rubric.)
Poetry close reading test #1 (metaphor, internal rhyme, end-stopped
lines, vocabulary)
No School
Writing Workshop: Introductory and concluding paragraphs
William Wordsworth: Perrine: “Composed upon Westminster Bridge,
September 3, 1802,” 1106; “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” 1106; “The
Solitary Reaper,” 1107; “The World Is Too Much with Us,” 766.
(Background information on Wordsworth and Romantic period)
In-class essay #1 (1992: The Prelude: speaker’s changing responses to
nature)
John Keats: Perrine: “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” 1102; “On First Looking
into Chapman’s Homer,” 965 “To Autumn,” 783 “When I Have Fears
that I May Cease to Be,” 995. (Background information on Keats and
Romantic Period)
Poetry close reading test #2 (metaphor, imagery, paraphrase,
vocabulary)
Writing Workshop: essay #1 (Review of TP-CASTT and
organization)
Poetry close reading test #3 (paraphrase, versification, vocabulary)
In-class essay #2 (1988: Compare and contrast “Bright Star” and
“Choose Something Like a Star”)
Poetry close reading test #4 (tone, symbolism, paraphrase, vocabulary)
Writing Workshop: essay #2 (Choosing apt details and incorporating
quotations)
In-class essay #3 (2000: Compare and contrast two Sirens poems:
Homer’s Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s “Siren Song”)
Midterm 3rd Quarter Poetry close reading test #5 (tone, shifts,
paraphrase, vocabulary)
Independent novel assignment (Students will select a contemporary
novel from the AP contemporary novel book list. They then
complete a study of stylist prose techniques, prose analysis, and reader
responses.) Poetry close reading test #6 (tone, apostrophe, simile,
vocabulary) SENIOR PLAY AUDITIONS
February 7 (F):
Week 24:
February 10 (M):
February 11 (T):
Presentation
February 12 (W):
February 13 (Th):
February 14 (F):
Week 25:
February 17 (M):
February 18 (T):
February 19 (W):
February 20 (Th):
February 21(F):
Week 26:
February 24 (M):
February 25 (T):
February 26 (W):
February 27 (Th):
In-class essay #4 (1994: Compare and contrast two Helen poems by EA
Poe and HD)
Writing Workshop: essay #3 (Peer evaluations and revisions)
Writing Workshop Essay #4 (Review of timed-writing skills) Poetry
assignment
Poetry close reading test #7 (pun, imagery, tone, paraphrase,
vocabulary)
Poetry close reading test #8 (mood, shift, repetition, paradox,
paraphrase, metaphor,
Writing Workshop: essays #5 and #6 (Review of AP reading rubrics;
revision) Last day to register independent novel assignment
President’s Day No School
Poetry Presentation: “Denotation and Connotation” “Imagery”
Figurative Language: Simile, Metaphor, Personification,
Apostrophe, Metonymy” “Figurative Language: Symbol, Allegory”
“Figurative Language: Paradox, Overstatement, Understatement, Irony”
“Allusion” “Tone” “Sound and Meaning”
In-class essay #5 (1993: Florence Nightingale/narrator’s attitude)
In-class essay #6 (1990: Soliloquy from Henry IV, Part II)
Othello Introduction (Role playing exercises from Shakespeare Set Free;
AC Bradley’s Shakespearean Tragedy)
Othello Dramaturgy Reports: (Venice, Turks, Cyprus, Moors, epilepsy,
Ira Aldridge, Paul Robeson, Recent Othello productions)
February 28 (F):
Othello Act I, Perrine:
Othello Act I, Perrine:
Othello Act II, Perrine
Writing Workshop (Run-on sentences and fragments; integrating
quotations)
Othello Act III, Perrine
Week 27:
March 3 (M):
March 4 (T):
March 5 (W):
March 6 (Th):
March 7 (F):
Othello Act III, Perrine
Othello Act IV, Perrine
Othello Act IV, Perrine
Othello Act V, Perrine
Othello Act V, Perrine End of 3rd Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Week 28:
March 10 (M):
March 11 (T):
March 12 (W):
March 13 (Th):
March 14 (F):
Week 29:
March 17 (M):
March 18 (T):
March 19 (W):
March 20 (Th):
March 21 (F):
Week 30:
March 24 (M):
March 25 (T):
March 26 (W):
March 27 (Th):
March 28 (F):
March 31-April 4:
Week 31:
April 7 (M):
April 8 (T):
April 9 (W):
April 10 (Th):
April 11 (F):
Week 32:
Othello Discussion
Performance of Othello @ MSU
In-class essay #1: Othello (1995: alienated character and how that
alienation reveals surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values)
Othello Test Othello MWDS due
No School
Writing Workshop: essay #7 (Appropriate use of subordination and
coordination; stylistic analysis: diction, sentence structure, treatment of
subject matter, and figurative language)
In-class essay #2 1996-“The Author to Her Book”/metaphor and
attitude)
Writing Workshop: Essay #1 (Controlling metaphor and organization
techniques)
Introduction The Canterbury Tales
Reading Day
The Canterbury Tales General Prologue (Students will bring Level 1, 2,
and 3 questions to class.)
In-class essay #3 (1996:Judge Pyncheon; 1997: Obasan; or 1998:
Middlemarch)
Free Reading Day
Writing Workshop: Essay #3 (Review of rubric and scoring timed
writing)
The Canterbury Tales The Knight (Students will bring Level 1, 2, and 3
questions to class.)
Spring Break No School
In-class essay #4 (1997:”Death of a Toad” or 2002: “Convergence of
the Twain”)
Writing Workshop: (Review of Open Question and selection of novel
or play for those questions; thesis statements)
Poetry Test (Review of terms, forms, patterns, etc)
Free reading day
Free reading Day
April 14 (M):
April 15 (T):
April 16 (W):
April 17 (Th):
April 18 (F):
Week 33:
April 21 (M):
The Canterbury Tales The Miller, The Reeve, The Cook, The Man of
Law, The Shipman, The Prioress, Chaucer, The Monk, The Nun’s Priest
(Students will bring Level 1,2, and 3 questions to class.)
Mid-term, 4th Qtr. Free Reading Day
The Canterbury Tales The Wife of Bath (Students will bring Level 1, 2,
and 3 questions to class.)
The Canterbury Tales The Friar, The Summoned, The Cleric, The
Merchant, (Students will bring Level 1, 2, and 3 questions to class.)
Good Friday No School
April 24 (Th):
April 25 (F):
The Canterbury Tales The Merchant, The Squire (Students will bring
Level 1, 2, and 3questions to class.)
The Canterbury Tales The Franklin, The Physician, The Pardoner, The
Second Nun (Students will bring Level 1, 2, and 3 questions to class.)
The Canterbury Tales The Canon’s Yeoman, The Manciple, The Parson,
Chaucer’s Retraction/Final Discussion (Students will bring Level 1,2, and
3 questions to class.)
Canterbury Tales Test
Faulkner Short Stories
Week 34:
April 28-May 2 Junior Senior Trip
Week 35:
May 5 (M):
May 6 (T):
May 7 (W):
May 8 (Th):
May 9 (F):
titles, authors,
Drama Unit
Elements of Drama: p. 1115-1119 Trifles
Fences
Our Town
Drama Unit Test
Major Works Test (Covering all major works, this test is a review of
setting, plot, and characters) Senior Play
Week 36:
May 12 (M):
May 13 (T):
May 14 (W):
May 15 (Th):
May 16 (F):
Semester Exams
May 19-21:
Semester Exams
April 22 (T):
April 23 (W):