School year	2016-17
Instructor	Eileen Paulus, MS
Contact information	eileenmpaulus@katyisd.org 281.237.6317 (classroom)
Location	MCTC Room 803
Office hours	Thursday: 2:40-3:05 or by appointment in room 803
Canvas	Or access Canvas through Secondary Student Portal
Grading	Major – 70% (timed writings, papers, objective tests, projects) Minor – 20% (quizzes, extended classwork, extended homework) Other – 10% (homework, classwork)

 

Course Overview

The purpose of Advanced Placement English is to provide the able, motivated senior an opportunity to do college-level work in high school. Most of you will be petitioning via the AP Literature and Composition Exam given each May for college credit. While the end goal of this course is a credit exam, I hope college credit is not all you want to take from away from this course. It goes without saying that the ability to think and write well are skills that will serve you no matter what your future endeavors. But also, to read great literature is to participate vicariously in the great themes of human existence. To think about and arrive at some kind of personal stance toward those issues and develop the ability to articulate that stance is, in my opinion, a necessary step toward understanding ourselves in relation to the larger world. Reading a range of works by both genders from a variety of time periods and cultures leads to a better understanding of progress of human thought and how contemporary perceptions affect our own thinking. We become better observers, more likely to be conscious of how our modern world affects us. We will work together towards all these goals—preparation for the AP exam, for your entrance into an intellectual community, and for your passage into a complex and demanding world.

 

Qualities for Success in this Course

Your academic disposition is the most important characteristic for success in this class. Students who possess most, if not all, of the following characteristics should perform well in this course:

• You are committed to putting your all into this course, to reading the assigned works and to processing what you read through class assignments and individual efforts.
• You read actively, questioning the text as you read, forming opinions and noticing personal connections and reactions.
• You strive to read with the larger picture in mind, considering the issues a work raises, taking into account the author’s purposes and biases.
• You are willing to prepare for and fully engage in discussion with your classmates and recognize that listening is as important as talking in holding an intellectual conversation.
• You work on your writing, seeking to understand how to craft logical and astute arguments about a text, supporting those arguments with specific and relevant textual evidence.
• You are motivated to go beyond the assignment, beyond the superficial.
• You exhibit a sense of responsibility regarding reading and writing assignments (no Spark Notes and no late papers).
• You have the maturity to accept criticism and to offer it constructively.
• You are willing to wrestle with questions for which there may be no definitive answers.
• You possess and/or strive to learn writing skills which show more than just some awareness of organization, diction, syntax, and mechanics.

 

Grading Policies

• Grading Scale:
  • Major 70%
  • Minor 20%
  • Daily/Homework 10%
• Homework is due at the beginning of class on the due date. No homework is accepted late.
• According to KISD grading policies, work assigned before the absence is due the day you return. If assigned the day of your absence, you have two days for each day absent in which to make up the work.
• Late Grades: If a major or minor grade is one day late, 80 is the highest possible grade. If two days late, 60 is the highest possible grade. After two days, accepting an assignment is at the discretion of the teacher with 50 as the highest possible grade.
• Retesting
• Students receiving a grade below 70 on a timed writing or objective test may opt to retest/redo for a maximum grade of 70.
• Students planning on redoing or retesting should make a conference appointment.
• Papers that go through multiple drafts are not eligible for retesting.
• Students must retest/redo within 7 calendar days of the test date or date a graded essay is returned.

 

Academic Honesty

• Representing material from study aids, the Internet, or other sources as one’s own work is considered a serious offence in the academic world. I expect advanced students to hold to the highest honorable behavior. When in doubt, cite the source.
• You are encouraged to study together and to discuss information and concepts covered in class with other students. However, NEVER copy or rephrase another’s work. Should copying occur, both the student who copied work from another student and the student who gave material to be copied will automatically receive a zero for the assignment.
• You may not speak during in class exams or timed writings. Any evidence of sharing answers during an exam will result in a zero for that exam and a conference with parents.
• All major and minor work written at home must be typed and submitted through Canvas and will automatically be submitted to Turnitin.com to check for plagiarism. If you present any information from other sources as your own work without attribution, you will receive at maximum of 50 for that assignment and possibly a zero depending on the severity of the plagiarism.
• Understand that in a university setting, academic honesty is of highest importance. Plagiarism can result in failure of a course and disciplinary action.

 

Classroom Rules

1. Be on time for class and prepared to learn with all necessary supplies.
2. Consume all food and drink in the Commons or throw in the Commons trash can prior to coming to class. No food or drink other than water may be in the classroom. The water must be in a sealed container and stored in the student's backpack or purse.
3. Treat everyone with courtesy and respect. Listen when others are speaking and do not interrupt. Do not use inappropriate language or make disrespectful remarks.
4. Electronic devices, including ear buds and headphones (both wireless and standard), may not be audible or visible during any class period unless I direct you to use them for an instructional purpose or I will hold your device until the end of class. Multiple violations will result in a disciplinary notice to the assistant principal.
5. Complete personal grooming prior to entering class.
6. Male students must wear shirts with sleeves.
7. 10-10 Rule: Students will not be given passes to leave the classroom for the restroom, etc. during the first or last ten minutes of class.
8. Stay in your seat until the bell rings signaling the end of the class period.

 

Early Dismissal Guidelines

To leave early, you must obtain a green pass from Mrs. Reeves, the attendance clerk BEFORE class. You must have a note or email from your parents or school sponsor explaining the need for early dismissal. Plan in advance. Usually, you will be given 5 minutes to get out of the parking lot before the rest of the students. See Ms. Gray, the assistant principal, if you have extenuating circumstances. 

 

Summer Reading

You should be well aware of the summer reading assignment for this course and have read Lord of the Flies by William Golding by August 29th. The information is widely publicized by your teachers last year and the Katy ISD website. Only students new to Katy ISD will be given extended time to read this work.

 

Learning community

I understand that students represent a rich variety of backgrounds and perspectives. I am committed to providing an atmosphere for learning that respects diversity. While working together to build this community I ask all students to do the following:

• share your unique experiences, values, and beliefs
• be open to the views of others
• honor the uniqueness of your peers
• appreciate the opportunity that we have to learn from each other in this community
• value each other’s opinions and communicate in a respectful manner
• keep confidential discussions that the community has of a personal nature
• use this opportunity together to discuss ways in which we can create an inclusive environment in this course and across the community

 

Supplies

• A calendar to record assignments
• A place to store handouts and papers, such as an accordion file or pocket pages in a notebook.
• A spiral notebook specifically for AP English.
• Different colored pens, pencils, highlighters, and paper on a daily basis.
• A flash drive
• Bring your AP Handbook to class every day. This is essentially your textbook.

 

Canvas

• I will use Canvas extensively as a method of communication, providing documents, conducting group discussions, and turning in assignments.
• Access Canvas through the secondary student portal.

 

First Semester

1^st Six Weeks: Developing an Analytical Voice

• Summer reading: Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
• Mastering the analytical paragraph
• Literary terms review
• Archetypes review
• Dystopian novel independent reading project (due end of 2^nd six weeks). Parents will approve reading choice.
  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
  • Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

 

2^nd Six Weeks: Archetypes

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Analytical skills: How an understanding of archetypal patterns contributes to literary analysis
• Introduction to Modern Poetry and 3-Column Analysis
• Introduction to Literary Analysis Research Project (2^nd semester completion)

 

3^rd Six Weeks: Understanding and Applying Literary Theory

• Introduction to literary theory through “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvel. Analytical skill: How literary theory contributes to literary analysis
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. Analytical skill: How an understanding of literary theory contributes to literary analysis

 

Second Semester

4^th Six Weeks: Working with Challenging Language

• Pre 20^th Century Poetry
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Analytical skill: Close reading and how diction, images, details, and figurative language contribute to meaning
• Literary analysis research project

 

5^th Six Weeks: Putting It All Together

• Wit by Margaret Edson
• Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien
• AP Test Preparation

 

6^th Six Weeks: Down to the Wire

• Post Exam Unit: Senior Speeches and Scrapbooks

 

 

Ongoing

 

• AP essays—ICTW and formal essays
• Multiple choice practice
• Close reading practice
• Grammar in the context of writing
• Sentence Structure
• Vocabulary

 

 

Reading List: You MUST obtain these ISBN numbers unless otherwise stated.

Fall ISBN List

• Summer Reading: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (ISBN-10: 0486282112 or ISBN-13: 978-0486282114
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (ISBN-10: 0451163966  ISBN-13: 978-0451163967)
• Dystopian choice book – any edition
• Research choice book – any edition

 

Spring ISBN List

• Hamlet by William Shakespeare Folger Edition (ISBN-10: 1451669410 ISBN-13: 978-1451669411 OR ISBN-10: 074347712X ISBN-13: 978-0743477123)
• Wit by Margaret Edson (ISBN-10: 0571198775  ISBN-13: 978-0571198771)
• Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien (ISBN-10: 0767904427   ISBN-13: 978-0767904421)

 

Ebooks: You may not use ereaders or read from a computer for AP Literature. You MUST obtain physical books that you can mark in as needed.