AP Lit course description

AP Lit Course Description

Welcome to AP Senior English. This course is designed for high-achieving students who love to read and write. AP Lit differs from AP Language in its focus on fiction, drama, and poetry. After many years, I have got this course just about the way I like it, but I am always experimenting with new activities and material. You can check summer reading lists and view my blog at wheelerhigh.com. I hope this brief overview of the class will give you some idea of what we do.


Some texts for this course:

Perrine & Arp — our literature textbook
Warriner’s Complete Course — our grammar text
Greek tragedy — Oedipus the King
Two Shakespearean plays —
The Taming of the Shrew
1 Henry IV
20th-century play — Wit
WHAM! The Comic Book Unit —
Watchmen
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Maus Vol. 1 or Persepolis Vol. 1
BOOM! The End of the World Unit –
Endgame
The Road
Choice of
Oryx and Crake
Alas, Babylon
The End of the World News
Truth is Stranger than Fiction Unit
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Phaedrus
“Plato’s Pharmakon”
Other texts TBA


The Senior Project

This assignment seems to cause a lot of anxiety, but it should not. Grades on the Senior Project have significantly raised the class average every year. Forms are available on-line at wheelerhigh.com, and I will provide everyone a handbook in the first week of school.


Grading

This course’s grades fall into 6 categories: Reading Lit (25%), Writing & Conventions (25%), Senior Project (25%), Listening/Speaking/Viewing (10%), and Literary Analysis (5%). This arrangement is the same for all AP Lit teachers at Wheeler.
Quizzes will be worth 1 point per question; tests will be worth 2. Formal compositions are worth 100 points. Students may turn them in late at a penalty of 20% per day as per English Dept. policy. My grade profile is usually half A’s, half B’s, with a handful of lower grades.
I do grade updates every week. Student grades are available on Pinnacle
In matters of grade scale, attendance, and tardies, we will adhere to the policies outlined in the student handbook. Parents should help students understand the importance of complete originality on all written work. Turnitin.com will show plagiarism whether intentional or unintentional. Please feel free to contact me:
Jimmy Carter
jimmy.carter@cobbk12.org
770-578-3266 (401)
www.wheelerhigh.com (click on my name)
www.drcsaplitblock.blogspot.com (class blog)