We will be creating a literary community through reading, writing, and blogging; discovering classic literature from the past and present through voices from around the world. I want you to learn how literature makes us know that we are not alone; we are spiritually connected and can feel safe.
How will we do this?
Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition has traditionally been a preparatory course, culminating in an exam to be taken in the spring for college credit. However, to those of us who teach language arts, this course is more about teaching students to read and write with greater insight, as well as a chance to help students develop a genuine sense of empathy through literature.
This course hopes to re-examine the entire idea of “A.P.” by implementing global citizenship into every aspect of the curriculum, making it a richer experience and creating a model for curriculum at Andover High School. Each section of the unit will have three components:
1) Global Citizenship
2) Well-chosen literary selections which connect to the former and an element of fiction
3) Experiences where students find connections in literature to themselves and the world.
The framework of the course will consist of a series of existential questions from Dr. William Gaudelli’s research. Each question, piece of literature, and overall learning experience will build on the next. Toward the end of term two, students will be having experiences where they combine all these elements and have direct contact with students from another country, students from an adjoining city, and share their work in a public forum.
Further, the A.P.E. Literature & Composition exam has changed its format for the coming year. I engaged in professional development and prepared for the changes to ensure you all have a smooth transition.
In addition, I reworked “grading” last year and students found it highly rewarding. My grading system focuses on the big picture, student personal growth, enthusiasm, participation, authenticity, and passion for the ideas we discuss.
I hope you enjoy the course, and I look forward to sharing in this journey with all of you!
Short Fiction Unit: The Legacy of American Slavery
- “The Danger of the Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie
- “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood
- "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri
- “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
- Selections from 13th (2016)
- “Going to Meet the Man” by James Baldwin
- I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
- “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison
- "Nobel Lecture on December 7, 1993" by Toni Morrison
- “Introduction to Poetry” Billy Collins
- “Poetry” by Marianne Moore
- "Sonnet 292" from the Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarch, translated by Anthony Mortimer
- “Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare
- “Holy Sonnet X: Death be not proud” by John Donne
- "George Gray" by Edgar Lee Masters
- “How I Discovered Poetry” by Rita Dove
- "The B Network" by Haki Madhubuti
- "A Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur
- “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins
- “First Hour” by Sharon Olds
- “It’s a Woman’s World” by Eavan Boland
- “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
- “Death of a Moth” by Virginia Woolf
- Selections from The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
- The Hours by Michael Cunningham
- The Hours (2002)
- Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Short Fiction Unit: My Two Lives & the Immigrant Experience
- “Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, Ask me Where I’m Local?” by Taiye Selasi
- “The House of Kronenstrasse” by Shira Nayman
- “Gogol” by Jhumpa Lahiri
- “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol
- The Namesake (2006)
- “My Two Lives” by Jhumpa Lahiri
- “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka
- “Hell-Heaven” by Jhumpa Lahiri
Poetry Unit: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
- “Barbie’s Ferrari” by Lynne McMahon
- “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold
- “Unholy Sonnets” by Mark Jarman
- “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth
- “Mid-term Break” by Seamus Heaney
- “The Space Heater” by Sharon Olds
- “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S, Eliot
- “Church Going” by Philip Levine
- "Hawk Roosting” by Ted Hughes
- “Golden Retrievals” by Mark Doty
- “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke
- “Not Bad Dad, Not Bad” by Jan Heller Levi
Drama Unit: Comedy, Tragedy & Modern Drama
- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
- A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
- Wit by Margaret Edson
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Assessments
Class Participation, Blogs, Daily Meditation Journal, and Homework 70%
Every night you will read a selection from the works above and compose a blog response. If you are absent, please view the blog and respond when you are able. Criteria and rubrics for the above will be made available. At the beginning of every class, I will read a piece of literature to bring you in the present followed by a five minute free write to be composed in your meditative journal. I will check these at the end of the term.
Writing & Major Assignments 30%
This category includes all major writing assignments, in-class essays, and final projects. Criteria and rubrics for the above will be made available.
Turnitin.com
Class ID: 22103826
Enrollment Key: jhumpalahiri
A.P. College Board
View Video: My AP Student Experience
Join Class: Your AP Class Section
Join Code: 432NYK
Aspen
Grades and progress reports will be consistently posted on Aspen. It is your responsibility to track your progress.
Classroom Behavior
Students must adhere to the rules of conduct outlined in the Andover High School Student Handbook 2018-2019 edition. If you act like an authentic adult, you will be treated in kind.
No cell phones, ever. I do not want to see them.
