Ap english Language and Composition 2016-2017 Eastlake High School Mariana Hughes Room 802

AP English Language and Composition 2016-2017

Eastlake High School

Mariana Hughes Room 802

Contact Information:

Email: [e-mail]

Grades: Jupitergrades.com

Web page: http://teacherweb.com/CA/EastlakeHighSchool/MarianaHughes

Telephone: [phone]

This course meets the “B” section of the A-G requirements for high school graduation and college admissions. In order to meet university eligibility, you must pass this class with a C or better. In order to meet high school graduation, you must pass this class with a D or better.
Students in danger of receiving a D or lower are expected to access the instructor for additional assistance.
Students who are making progress with critical reading and writing, but who are in danger of earning a “D”, will be given an opportunity to raise their grade to a C IF THEIR HW/CW percentage is at or above 80%.
Students who earn a D at the end of first semester who are not completing assignments regularly (lower than 80% in HW/CW portion of grade) will not be allowed to enroll in this course for second semester.
Course Objectives:

The purpose of this course is to prepare students for writing for the variety of audiences that they will encounter in their immediate future as well as at the university and beyond. The course will train students in critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking as they respond to a variety of texts that represent different time periods and cultures.

At the end of the course all students will be expected to take the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition test. The fee for the test is approx. $90. Please plan for this in advance. Deposits for the test fee will be collected during the first semester. The balance for test fees must be paid before the test date in May. Make checks payable to Eastlake High School and pay in the ASB.
Because this course is taught during the senior year, students will learn skills that will prepare them to write the college application essay.
Students are expected to visit the class webpage regularly from home, the public library, or the school computer lab to find out about readings and assignments.
Grading System:
Writing: 55%

Tests: 35%

Class work/ Homework: 10%
No extra credit will be given.
Requirements:

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  Students must keep a binder for this course separate from all other classes divided into the following sections:
  

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  Daily Plans
  
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  Class notes
  
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  Writing (rubrics, and essays)
  
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  Vocabulary
  
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  Passages/ Readings
  
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  College Application Materials (UC/ CSU/ Common App., SAT/ ACT)
  
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  Hand outs (MLA, graphic organizers etc)
  

Citizenship matters.
In general, citizenship is determined in large part by completion of homework and classwork. Completion of Homework and Class work reflects how prepared you are to do the day’s work.
To predict your citizenship grade, look at the jupitergrades “Homework/Classwork” category. If this is a 70%, it is likely that you will get a C in citizenship; it will be lower if you have been late or truant or have unprofessional class room behaviors.
Just as will be expected at the university when you leave Eastlake High School or in the work force, you are expected to be present, be on time, and be prepared.
Homework Policy:

Late work will only be accepted for cleared, excused absences. If the student was absent for one class period, he/she has one extra class period to complete it, etc. Once this time has passed the late assignment will no longer be accepted.

It is the responsibility of the student to meet with the instructor or contact the instructor about the assignment and any materials that are needed to complete the assignment.

If a student shows up to any class on a day that an assignment for my class is due, he/ she must submit the assignment. If you are present for any part of the day but leave for a field trip or sporting event, you must turn in your work. No exceptions. Submit the assignment to me directly, through email, or in the office.
Students must understand that some in-class activities, assignments, and lectures cannot be made up.
Plagiarism:

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Do not copy professional authors or your peers for anything that you will receive a grade for. Please review and sign ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY and return.
Overview of Writing:

As a composition course, students will be expected to communicate clearly in writing. They will have many opportunities to practice writing and develop their skills. Students will also write MANY complete essays. These essays will allow students to respond to a variety of forms (narrative, expository, analytical, and argumentative) about a variety of subjects (public policies, popular culture, personal experiences, current events, etc.) Many essays will proceed through the entire writing process. Many essays will be timed essays that are completed in class in preparation for AP Assessment and “blue book” exams at the university. Most writing will be scored using the 9 point College Board rubric. Students will have many opportunities to use and calibrate using the rubric. While the readings are organized around different pre-determined units, the instruction is driven in large part by the skills that the instructor observes need more development. While essays are typically scored on the College Board rubric, some assignments will isolate a particular skill and provide feedback to isolate this skill.

Overview of Reading:
This course is modeled after a college level equivalent course. Students should come prepared with the ability to read and discuss a variety of texts. The course will use primarily nonfiction readings but will use fictional texts occasionally to acquire depth with a particular period, author, theme, or political viewpoint. Readings and visual texts are taken from student core texts, online sources, and occasionally other current periodicals if they are relevant to the curriculum. Students will learn to understand how the creators of visual texts also employ specific choices and present a view point.
The reading instruction and materials in this course are designed to move students from reading for plot only to a more critical understanding of the rhetorical techniques and strategies that an author uses to communicate his/ her viewpoint and create different effects in the text as a whole.
Students will have many opportunities to respond to readings and share their interpretations. Student reading will be assessed both informally (discussions, conferences, journals, logs, etc.) and formally (multiple choice assessments modeled after AP test, essays, Socratic Seminars, quizzes and other tests).
Students will be taught many reading strategies that will support their comprehension and analysis of difficult texts.
Overview of Assessment:

Students will be assessed both formally and informally through out the year. Assessment results will inform instruction and review. Students will have formative assessments that provide the instructor and the student with information about strengths and weaknesses. Formative assessments can take many forms. These include but are not limited to: Writing warm ups, reading quizzes prior to discussion and essay writing, vocabulary and terminology review exercises, outlines of readings, passage annotations that are submitted, quick writes, imitative writing exercises, rubric calibration exercises, Socratic seminar participation, etc. Summative assessments are given regularly to measure for skill mastery, critical reading, analytical writing. Summative assessments can also take many forms. They include, but are not limited to: Multiple choice exams modeled after the AP test or taken from released AP tests, essays, both timed and final drafts of process papers, Terminology and vocabulary exams, etc.

Course Organization
This course is organized by units. Each unit incorporates a range of different texts and forms, a variety of writing responses (warm ups, quick writes, rhetorical précis, timed essays, essays which go through the writing process), a variety of visual texts, assessments (multiple choice questions, short essays), and instruction and review of text citation (MLA). Vocabulary instruction is built into each unit and focuses on etymology as well as vocabulary taken from the context of selected readings. Vocabulary instruction is meant to develop reading comprehension as well help students develop a wide ranging vocabulary.
The following list of readings may change depending on new readings that become available throughout the year.
In addition to the variety of writing assignments that are specific to particular readings or instructional topics, students will respond to previous released AP essay prompts/ AP style prompts as they relate to the issues of a given unit.
Semester I: 1^st 6 Weeks

Foundations in Rhetoric: Writers on Writing and the Narrative Essay

As students will be preparing to write college essays this quarter, establishing a foundation in rhetoric which emphasizes understanding of diction, imagery, selection of detail, organization, and syntax helps students to view their own work more critically. The theme of this unit is Writers on Writing. Students begin to explore the struggles that many author’s face, and the myth of the elusive “natural writer” is examined.
“Politics and the English Language” George Orwell

"Getting to Know About You and Me" Chana Schoenberger

“On Memory and Personal Essays” Judith Ortiz Cofer

“Silent Dancing” Judith Ortiz Cofer

“My Life as An Undocumented Immigrant” Jose Antonio Vargas

“Ordeal by Cheque” W. Crue

“The Crummy First Draft” Anne Lammott

“Why I Write” George Orwell

“Writing Around Rules” Mike Rose

“On Simplicity” William Zinnser

“Selecting, Slanting, and Charged Language” Birk and Birk
Semester I: Second 6 Weeks

Foundations in Argumentation/ Defining Success:

After reading, analyzing and responding to other author’s texts that address the difficult nature of writing, in this unit students will be writing narrative essays and argumentative essays. They will receive instruction in foundations of argument such as: fallacies, organization, evidence, claims, appeals, etc. Their close reading and responding to thinkers that question, define, or redefine the nature happiness will be the starting point for students to work on the college essay. Through college applications, students will begin to formally select pathways after high school. In this unit, readings will force them to reflect and question what will ultimately make them happy and fulfilled.
Readings:
"The Right to Fail" William Zinnser

“Disembarking at Quebec” Margaret Atwood (Online)

“Paradox and a Dream” John Steinbeck (Online)

“The Box Man” Barbara Ascher

“Life Has Never Been So Good For Our Species” Michael Shermer

“The Spoils of Happiness” David Sosa

“The Singer Solution to World Poverty” Peter Singer

“A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift

“Why Americans are So Restless in the Midst of their Prosperity” Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America.
Ellen Goodman “The Company Man” (AP Test 1991)

Gary Soto 1991 (AP)

Hazlitt (AP 2006)

Lapham (1996)

Peter Singer 2005 (AP)

Thoreau (40 Essays)

*Note, although we read several AP passages during this unit, not all are used for timed essays. Some are used to practice and learn close reading strategies; others are used to introduce important concepts, points of view or ideas about success.
Semester I: 3^rd 6 weeks

Our Basic Rights?

This quarter will examine many rights we are well aware of and others we may not even consider. Students will continue to develop analytical reading and writing skills as well as close reading skills that are effective when working on a timed reading assessment such as the AP test. More detailed review and instruction will take place about issues such as coordination and subordination, effective use of language, logical organization of ideas, and emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
Readings:

“Civil Disobedience” Henry David Thoreau

“Hunters are Not Gun Nuts” Terry McDonnell

“If We’re Gonna Have Guns, Let’s Get ‘em out in the Open” Mike Royko

“A Call for Unity” Letter from Birmingham Clergy

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Informed Argument)

"Why Don't We Complain?" William F. Buckley Jr

Second Inaugural Address. Abraham Lincoln (AP 2002)

Testaments Betrayed Milan Kundera (AP 2002)
Semester II: 1^st 6 Weeks

Education:

Whether students prepare to enter a four-year university, a junior college, the armed forces, or the work force, their education and learning will continue. In this unit we explore education from many different points of view. We explore the value of education, the effectiveness of education, and different controversial issues in education.

Foundation skills that were introduced at the beginning of the year continue to be taught and assessed through readings and student responses.

Film: Waiting for Superman

Readings:
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” Francine Prose

“A For Effort” John Leo (Informed Argument)

“A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift (online)

“Advice to Youth” Mark Twain (online)

“American Needs its Nerds” Leonid Fridman

“On the Vindication of Women” Mary Anne Wollstonecraft (Cracking the AP)

“The End of Education” Neil Postman (Cracking the AP)

Speech on the Purpose of Education for Social Change, Robert Owen (1816) (Cracking the AP)

The Medusa and the Snail, Lewis Thomas (AP Test, 2005)

Arthur Schopenhauer (AP Passage 2006)

“The American Scholar” Ralph Waldo Emerson speech 1837
Semester II: 2^nd 6 Weeks

Media and Culture:

This unit explores the impact the ever increasing media has on culture. The way that advertising, computer technology, and music affect culture is considered in a variety of texts through a variety of genres. In addition to these readings, students will do a considerable amount of reading and analyzing from periodicals to follow current trends and images and understand the claims that these make and how different rhetorical choices reflect the attitudes of the authors’. As media is in constant flux, many readings from this unit are taken from periodicals that are current during our studies.
Magnasoles Ad from The Onion

“Citizen Anna” James Poniewozik

“Welcome to Cyberbia” May Kadi (Informed Argument)

Television and Politics 2007 AP Synthesis Question

"Are New Technologies Making Us Happier" Courtney Boyd Myers

"Watching TV Makes You Smarter" Steven Johnson

Semester II: 3^rd 6 Weeks

Classic Arguments:

As we enter the final weeks before the AP test, student reading focuses on classic arguments that challenge students to apply the many skills we have worked on throughout the year. As students prepare to exit high school, these readings provide a foundation on a variety of different issues. As these readings tend to be quite complex, we slow down the reading pace and use the time to review key concepts and skills before the final assessment. During this last period before the test, students also complete a “mock test” with the full essay exam and full multiple choice exam. The passages for this assessment vary from year to year. Passages for this exercise are taken from released AP tests.
“The Allegory of the Cave” Plato (Informed Argument)

1984 by George Orwell

“The Huxleyan Warning” by Neil Postman

Last 2 1/2Weeks

This remaining block of time usually occurs after the AP test in May. During this time I select activities are designed to allow the students to use the skills they have learned all year long and apply them to work place documents. We will read texts about online professionalism, social networking and the law, and how complete a resume.

Other College Application related readings include:

“When Colleges Look Up Applicants on Facebook: The Unspoken New Admissions Test” Victor Luckerson

Figaro website

"The Right Reasons to Pick a College" Shapiro

Resources:
Student Texts:
Decker and Scwagler, Patterns of Exposition .New York: Ongman, 2004