INSTRUCTOR:Ms.

RachelFinkelstein
EMAIL:rfinkelstein@woodscharter.org

ROOM:210
WEBSITE:http://finkenglish.weebly.com/apliteratureandcomposition.html

A.P.LITERATUREANDCOMPOSITION~BRITISHLITERATURE

COURSESTANDARD

APBritishLiteratureandCompositionistheculminationofEnglishstudiesatWoodsand
followsthecurricularrequirementsdescribedintheAPEnglishCourseDescriptionpublishedby
theCollegeBoard.Itisdesignedasarigorousfreshmancollege/universitycoursethat"engages
studentsinthecarefulreadingandcriticalanalysisofimaginativeliterature"(45).Bytheendof
theyear,youwillhavestudiedworkswritteninseveralgenresbyBritishauthorsfromthe
AngloSaxonperiodtomoderndayandwillhavewrittenextensivelyandcriticallyonwhatyou
haveread.

READINGSCHEDULE1

1stTrimester
SelectedMedievalPoetry
Beowulf
TheCanterburyTales,

GeoffreyChaucer
SelectedElizabethanPoetry
TwelfthNight,WilliamShakespeare
IndependentReading:

Grendel,Shakespeareplayofyourchoice,SirGawainandtheGreen
Knight

2ndTrimester
Frankenstein,MaryShelley
SelectedRomanticPoets
ThePictureofDorianGray

,OscarWilde
IndependentReading:BothaRomanticandVictoriannovelofyourchoice

3rdTrimester
SelectedBloomsburyGroup
SelectedSymbolistandModernistPoetry
ToTheLighthouse,VirginiaWoolf
IndependentReading:Amodernistnovelandabookofyourchoice

CLASSROOMCOMMUNITY

Berespectfulofothersandtheiropinions.Listenandcontributethoughtfully.

Pleasenotethatthereadingsand/orreadingschedulemaybesubjecttochange.

TECHNOLOGYINTHECLASSROOM

Thiscoursewilloftenallocatetheuseoflaptopsandevencellphones.Ifyouhaveapersonal
laptop,Isuggestregularlybringingittoclass.Thechromecartprettymuchlivedinmy
classroomlastyear,andIwouldliketonotdependonitasmuch.:)

However,dailynotetaking,bellringers,andotherwritingexercisesmustbecomposedusing
pen(orpencil)andnotebookpaper.2 Laptopsandcellphonesareonlytobeusedduringspecified
activitieswithinstructorpermission.Outsideofthesedesignatedtimes,cellphonesandlaptops
shouldbestowedinbackpacksandoutofsight.Pleaserefrainfromcheckingemails,using
socialmedia,ortexting.Repeatedpatternsofdisruptionwillnotbetolerated.

ESSAYS

Studentswilluseobservationsfromannotations,classnotes,andotherclassroomdocumentsto
writeessaysthatinterpretandanalyzethetext.Studentwritingshouldexamineliteraryelements,
analyzeauthor'scraft,andilluminatethemeswithinthetextthatrevealatruthaboutthehuman
experience.FormalessayswillcloselyresemblefreeresponsequestionsfrompastAPtests.For
eachoftherequirednovels,youwill:

Writeanessay(34pagesinlength)
Presentanargumenta.k.a.Youropinion,notasummary
Incorporatetextualdetailsandexamplesfromthetext
Includeobservationsofthebook'sstructure,style,ortheme
FollowtheMLAFormatguidelinesoutlinedinclass
Submityouressaytothegoogleclassroomassignment
Turninyourannotations

PleaseseetheA.P.essaygradingrubricpostedonourclasswebsiteformoredetails.

HOMEWORK

Readingwillbeassignednightly.Allotherhomeworkassignmentswillvaryonadaytoday
basis.Allhomework(bothelectronicandpaper)isdueatthebeginningofclass.Paper
homeworkmustbeturnedintoyourclasssboxbeforeleavingclass.

Doesnotapplytostudentswithspecificaccommodations.

VOCABULARY

Everyotherweek,wewillstudyvocabularyandliteratureterms.Words,terms,andpractice
assignmentsareassignedonMondays,quizzesaregivenonFridays.Youwillturninyour
vocabularypracticewithyourquizonFriday.Vocabularyhomeworkmustbehandwritten.3

READINGQUIZZES

Opennoteliteraturequizzeswillbegivenonaregularbasis.Sometimesthesequizzeswillbe
announced,othertimesnot.Studentsareencouragedtousetheirreadingnotesandannotation
guidesduringtheseassessments.

LATEWORK

Intheeventthatastudentmissesclass,he/sheisencouragedtocontactaclassmatetoreceive
homeworkinstructionsforthenextday.Alllateworkwillreceivehalfcredit.Additionaltime
formakeupworkwillbegrantedforexcusedabsencesonly.

BUTWHATSHOULDIDOIFIMISSCLASS?

Contactaclassmatetofindoutwhatyouvemissedandreceivehomeworkinstructions.
Checkgoogleclassroomfortheweeklessonplan/homework(maybesubjecttochange).
Ifallelsefails,emailmeatyourownrisk.
Thedaythatyouvereturnedfromyourabsence,youshould:
A. Turninanylateworktotheclassmailbox
B. Getextracopiesofclassroommaterialsfromtheirclasssfilecabinetdrawer
C. Makearrangementswithmetotakeanymissedquizzes/testsduringlunch

ENGAGEMENTGRADE

Eachstudentwillreceiveanengagementgradeattheendofeachtrimester.Engagementgrades
reflectastudent'sparticipationinthefollowingcriteria:

Studentcomestoclasspreparedandhavealloftheirmaterials(annotationguides,
readingnotes,book,homework,etc.)ontheirdesksatthebeginningofclass.
Studentchecksboardtoseeiftheresabellringeractivity.Theyalsochecktheboardto
seethedaysscheduleandhomework.
Studentparticipatesinclassroomactivitiesanddiscussion,readingdiligentlywhetherit
beinsideoroutsideoftheclassroom,andotherclassassignments.

Doesnotapplytostudentswithspecificaccommodations.

 Studentstrivestomaketheircontributionsexcellentandtakesresponsibilityfortheir
work.
Studentpromotesclassroomcommunitybypracticinggoodlisteningskillsandbeing
respectfultoothersandtheiropinions.

Inadditiontonotes,homework,andthecurrentbook,studentsmustalsobringtheirclass
supplies.Failuretohaveallofthenecessarysupplieseachdaywillresultinalossofengagement
credit.Studentsarerequiredtoattendclasseachdayreadytolearn,whichincludeshavingallthe
necessarysupplies.Theseitemsinclude:

Pencilsandpens
Spiralorcompositionnotebook(forreadingnotes)
Threepronged1inchbinder
Looseleafpaper
Sectioninbinderforclassnotes,readings,homework,classwork,andassignments
Planner/homeworkdiary

Studentsshouldhaveallofthenecessarymaterialsbytheendofthefirstweekofclass..

GRADEBREAKDOWN

ClassworkandHomework:40%
EssaysandTests:45%
Engagement:15%

T1:25%
T2:25%
T3:20%

MIDTERM:5%
SENIORPROJECT:20%ofyourT3grade

POWERSCHOOL

Gradesareenteredandupdatedonabimonthlybasis.Iencouragestudentstoberesponsiblefor
keepingupwiththeirgradesonpowerschool.Questionsandconcernsconcerningastudents
powerschoolgradesarewelcome.

ACADEMICINTEGRITY

Studentsmustdemonstrateacademicintegrityinthiscourseby:1)completingallassignmentsto
thebestoftheirability,2)completingassignmentsindependently(unlessotherwisenoted),3)
avoidingplagiarisminallitsforms,and4)avoidingcheating,suchascopyingfromother
studentsorbyobtaininganswersforassignmentsinadvance.Allassignmentsmustbeturnedin
withaminimallyacceptablelevel,evenifhalfcreditisearnedbecauseoflateness,inorderto
receiveagradeforthetrimester.

Plagiarism/Cheating:

Incompliancewiththedisciplinaryactionsoutlinedintheschoolhandbook,thepenaltyfor
plagiarismandcheatingwillbeazerofortheassessmentorassignmentfurthermore,students
willreceiveaminimumoftwodetentions.

Plagiarismisdefinedastakingcreditforanothersideasorwordswithoutattribution.Plagiarism
andcheatingforanyassignmentwillresultina0gradeforthatassignment.

Cheatingisdefinedasfalsifyingonesacademicworkorassistinganotherstudenttofalsify
academicwork.Thefollowingareexamplesofcheating:

usinghiddennotes,copyingfromanotherstudent,orhelpinganotherstudentduringan
assessmentorinclassessay.

givingassessmentquestionsoranswerstoastudentfromanotherclassorobtaining
assessmentquestionsoranswersfromstudentsinanotherclass.
stealingassessmentquestionsoranswers
changinganswers,comments,orgradesonanassessmentalreadygraded

copyingfromastudentorallowinganotherstudenttocopyhomework(unless
collaborationisexplicitlyencouragedfortheparticularassessmentorassignment)

usingtechnologyinanywaytoshareassessmentquestionsoranswerswithother
students,ortocommunicatewithotherstudentsduringanassessment.

NEEDHELP?

Feelingoverwhelmed,confusedorstressedout?Maybeyouwantextrafeedbackonarough
draft,oryouhavequestionsaboutagradeonanessay?Idlovetositdownwithyouandoffer
myhelp.Scheduleanappointmenttoseemeduringlunchorafterschool.Yourealsowelcome
todropby.Justdontwaituntilitstoolate!

COURSEAGREEMENTFORM

Studentsandparentsarerequiredtosignthecourseagreementformtoacceptthecoursesyllabus
andexpectationssetforth.Thecourseagreementformispostedonourgoogleclassroomand
shouldbeelectronicallysubmittednolaterthan8/26.

INDEPENDENTREADING

Eachmonth,youwillchooseanovelfromthepurplebookcasetoreadoutsideofclass.Students
willselectabook4 fromtheCollegeBoardreadinglistasaformofindependentstudy.Your
novelwillbewrittenbyawriterwhoisBritishand/orconsideredtobeapartoftheBritish
literarytradition.Secondly,yournovelwillalsobelistedontheCollegeBoardslistofA.P.
novels.

TEACHERFORADAYPROJECT

Thisassignmentasksyoutoteacha15minutelessontooneofMs.Koppelcamsclasses.Your
goalastheteacheristohelpstudentsanalyzeapoemorshortstoryofyourchoice.Assignment
detailswillbeprovidedatalaterdate.

INDEPENDENTREADINGESSAYS

Afterapproximatelyamonth'stime,youwillwriteainclasstimedessayonyournovelof
choice.Thepromptwillbeprovided,anditwillcloselyresembletheopenquestionontheA.P.
test.Allindependentreadingessayswillbecomposedduringasingleclassperiod(yes,that
meanstimed).Essayswillbeevaluatedandgradedaccordingtothestandardsoutlinedinthe
essayrubric.

INDEPENDENTREADINGASSESSMENTSCHEDULE

Writethesedeadlinesinyourschoolassignmentnotebook/dailyplanner!5

TBASummerreading
10/7Grendel
11/4SirGawainandTheGreenKnight
12/2Shakespeareplayofyourchoice
1/6NovelfromtheRomanticperiod
2/3NovelfromtheVictorianperiod
3/3Modernistnovel
4/7Novelofyourchoice

4
5

Seethepurplebookcaseinourclassroomforoptions.
Pleasenotethatthesedeadlinesmaybesubjecttochange.