Mission and Philosophy:
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.
In addition, I hope to rethink “grading” this
year. I will reimaging my grading system focusing on the big picture, the student’s
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.
Beginnings: The Art of Fiction
· “Happy Endings” by
Margaret Atwood
· “The Story of an Hour”
by Kate Chopin
· Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
· In a Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien
· The Hours by Michael Cunningham
· “The Danger of the
Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie
· Unity (2015)
· “Killing the Animals”
by Weslet McNair
· “Introduction to
Poetry” Billy Collins
· “Poetry” by Marianne Moore
· “Reading Gatsby” by
Eric Pellerin
· “Sonnet 116” by
William Shakespeare
· "Sonnet
292" from the Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarch, translated by Anthony
Mortimer
Plot: Telling a Story
· “Social Security” by
Terrence Winch
· “Lines” by Martha
Collins
· “Sonny’s Blues” by James
Baldwin
· “On the Death of a
Colleague” by Stephen Dunn
· “Only Goodness” by Jhumpa
Lahiri, Only Goodness
· “Going to Meet the
Man” by James Baldwin
· “The Student Theme”
by Ronald Wallace
· “A Barred Owl” by
Richard Wilbur
· “The History Teacher”
by Billy Collins
· I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
· “Recitatif” by Toni
Morrison
· “Numbers” by Mary
Cornish
· “Beautiful Black Men”
by Nikki Giovanni
· “Mathematics” by Mos
Def
· “Where I’m From” by
Jay Z
· “White People Can’t
Dance” by Eric Pellerin
· 13th (2016)
· “Fifth Grade Autobiography”
by Rita Dove
· “The First White
President” by Te-Nehisi Coates
· “Plagiarism” by Eric
Pellerin
· Beloved Toni Morrison
· “Margaret Garner:
Defying the Fugitive Slave Act” by Levi Coffin
Narration: Who is Telling the Story?
· “First Hour” by
Sharon Olds
· “Don’t Ask Me Where I’m
From, Ask me Where I’m Local?” by Taiye Selasi
· “Hills Like White
Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
· “The House of
Kronenstrasse” by Shira Nayman
· “Unaccustomed Earth”
by Jhumpa Lahiri,
· The Stranger Albert Camus
· Won’t You Be My Neighbor (2018)
· “Death of a Moth” by Virginia
Woolf
· “Animals” by Miller
Williams
· “Holy Sonnet X: Death
be not proud” by John Donne
· “Unholy Sonnets” by
Mark Jarman
· “God Says Yes to Me”
by Kaylin Haught
· “The Bell” by Richard
Jones
· The Cord” by Leanne O’Sullivan
· “The Summer I was
Sixteen” by Geraldie Connolly
· Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
· “The Poem of Chaulk”
by Philip Levine
· “Sax’s and Selves” by
Mark Halliday
· “Praise Song” by
Lucille Clifton
· “Advice from the Experts”
by Bill Knott
· The Hours (2002)
· “It’s a Woman’s World”
by Eavan Boland
· “Barbie’s Ferrari” by
Lynne McMahon
· “Dover Beach” by
Matthew Arnold
· “My Life” by Joe
Wenderoth
· “Where is She” by
Peter Cherches
Characterization: Who am I?
· “Autobiographia” by
G.E Patterson
· “The Overcoat” by Nikolai
Gogol,
· “Gogol” by Jhumpa
Lahiri,
· “I Wandered Lonely as
a Cloud” by William Wordsworth
· The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri,
· “Loud Music” by
Stephen Dobyns
· “Goodbye to the Old Life”
by Wesley McNair
· “My Two Lives” by Jhumpa
Lahiri,
· “Mid-term Break” by
Seamus Heaney
· “Acting” by Suzanne
Cleary
· A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
· “The Space Heater” by
Sharon Olds
· “No Return” by
William Matthews
· “The Panic Bird” by
Robert Phillips
· “Happy Marriage” by
Taslima Nasrin
· The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
· “I Finally Managed to
Speak to Her” by Hal Sirowitz
· “Coffee in the Afternoon”
by Alberto Rios
· “Sonnet 94: A woman’s
face” by William Shakespeare
· “Sonnet 53: What is
your substance” by William Shakespeare
· The Decay of Lying: An Observation by Oscar Wilde
· “Phrases and Philosophies
for the Use of the Young” by Oscar Wilde
· “A Few Maxims for the
Instruction of the Over-Educated” by Oscar Wilde
· “The Selfish Giant”
by Oscar Wilde
· “The Happy Prince” by
Oscar Wilde
· “A Dialogue Between
the Body and Soul” by Andrew Marvell
· “The Love Song of J.
Alfred Prufrock” by T.S, Eliot
Setting: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are
We Going?
· “A Choice of
Accommodations” by Jhumpa Lahiri
· “Ladies and Gentlemen
in Outer Space” by Ron Padgett
· Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman.
· Portrait of an Artist
as a Young Man
by James Joyce
· “What He Thought” by Heather McHugh
· “Church Going” by Philip Levine
· “Golden Retrievals” by Mark Doty
· “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore
Roethke
· “The Green One Over There”
by Katia Kapovich
· “The History of
Poetry” by Peter Cooley
· Amadeus Peter Shaffer
· “The Farewell” by
Edward Field
· “The Fathers” by
Elizabeth Holmes
· “Hawk Roosting” by Ted Hughes
· In a Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien
· “The Old Liberators”
by Robert Hedin
· “Lesson” by Forrest
Hamer
Symbol: What Do You
See? What Do Others See?
· “A Wreath to the Fish”
by Nancy Willard
· “A Metaphor Crosses
the Road” by Martha McFerren
· “Ballplayer” by Evie
Shockley
· The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
· “A Hunger Artist” by Franz
Kafka
· “Nipple Jesus” by Nick
Hornby
· “Hell-Heaven” by Jhumpa
Lahiri
· “Mrs. Midas” by Carol
Ann Duffy
· Ghosts Henrik Ibsen
· “Beyond Recall” by
Sharon Bryan
· “Grammar” by Tony
Hoagland
· “Alzheimer’s” by Bob
Hicok
· “Message: Bottle #32”
by J. Allyn Rosser
· “Not Bad Dad, Not Bad”
by Jan Heller Levi
· “Little Father” by Li-Young
Lee
· Hamlet William Shakespeare
· Selections from: Henry V,
Titus Andronicus, and Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
· “Beyond Recall” by
Sharon Bryan
· “What I Would Do” by Marc Pattersen
· “The Meadow” by Kate
Knapp Johnson
· “Only One of My
Deaths” by Dean Young
· “May” by Bruce Weigel
· “The Death of a Toad”
by Richard Wilbur
· “Hamlet Off-Stage:
Laertes Cool” by D.C. Berry
· “The Dead” by Susan
Mitchell
Assessments:
Class Participation, Blogs, 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.
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.
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.
