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Welcome to AP Literature & Composition with Mrs. Blankenship

mblanken@wcboe.org

 

Class of 2012: My appologies!  This website was out of date in regards to the summer assignment.  That information has now been corrected.  The summary of the corrections is that the independent book essay is due the first day of school, not August 1st. Also The Importance of Being Earnest replaced Frankenstein.  You will find The Importance... a much simpler read that you can probably finish in a day or two, so please read it.  If you already read Frankenstein, you may use it as your choice book now or as a Buddy Book later.


 

What to expect this school year

     The focus of this AP English course will be to help you reach a college level of reading, thinking, and writing skills such that you can take the AP test and receive credit for English 101 and 102Instead of being organized by theme or chronological order, this course is based on a fluid sequence of skills and related materials. For that reason, the first term units (summer reading, resume writing, six traits, and short stories) focus more on knowledge, comprehension, and application, while the fourth term units (Shakespeare, Poetry/Research) emphasize independent analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. However, this is your class.  The order and unit length will reflect your responses, interests, and needs. Some classes may take a special interest in a certain unit or be able to move quickly beyond another unit.

  

Units/Content

Skills

·        Time management skills/Independence 

·        Textual Analysis (Interpretative, evaluative, and argumentative skills)

·        Self-evaluative/Meta-cognitive skills

·        Writing skills

·        Student-led learning / Self-motivated learning

·        Critical thinking skills

 

 AP Syllabus

 

AP Test

    Students are not required to take the AP test to take an AP class, but it is recommended because they can earn up to six college credits.

     The AP English Literature and Composition test is a two part exam intended to assess a students mastery of reading, writing, and analysis skills necessary to earn credit for English 101 and 102.  The first hour consists of 55 multiple choice questions on selected texts.  The second half is a two hour essay writing test with three questions: a poetry question, a short fiction question, and an "open question" that requires students to apply prior knowledge of a novel. 

    To learn more visit the AP English Literature and Composition Exam on the College Board's website.

    The AP tests are scheduled for early May.  More details will be posted on the AP Test Page. 

 

Summer Reading Reminder

First Day of School: Essay due on Choice novel answering the question "What makes this book worth studying as part of great British or American literature?"

First Week of School: The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing.  Be prepared to take a test the 2nd or 3rd day of school.

 

Working together using this wiki

     Think of this wiki as a shared online message board. Our entire class can share information using this wiki, making your comments accessible to everyone. Play around with this wiki: Notice how you can add comments to a page, see what people have changed, and edit all the text.

 

 

Highlights of 2008-2009 

AP English Goes Shakespearean!

 

     These seemingly ordinary AP English students transformed into a band of Shakespearean Actors this winter.  They performed a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream entirely in the original Shakespearean language.  Complete with sword fight, cat fight, romance, comedy, and "magic love flowers."

     Sorry! No pictures are available.  You had to be there to see it.  

 

Some favorite lines:  Fie, fie! you counterfeit, you puppet, you! 

          Get you gone, you dwarf; You minimus; You bead, you acorn!

          Though she be but little, she is fierce.

          Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray, My legs are longer though, to run away.

          Out, dog! out, cur! thou drivest me past the bounds of maiden's patience.

          Thou hast mistaken quite and laid the love-juice on some true-love's sight:

           Lord what fools these mortals be!

 

The Almost Tee-Shirt 2009

Slogans we thought were funny enough to be on an AP Class shirt.

-If you can read this... at least you're literate.

-You are flagrantly feckless you vacuous fool!

-Flagrantly Feckless.... It's not as bad as it sounds.  It just makes you easy to subjugate.

-AP English Checklist

      __ Auspicious Grades

      __ Eliminate Platitudes

      __ Daily Epiphanies

      __ Loquacious Discussions

      __ Stay away from feckless people

-Don't feel bad for being vacuous: You don't even know what the word means.

-Being perfunctory is just what works for you.   

 

Parody Poems

More Poems Click on link to see the original poem and the rest of the class' parodies.

 

This is just to say by Jeremy Bernstein 2009

 Parody of William Carlos Williams' "This is just to say"

I have taken

the lead part

of the musical

show

 

At which

you were

planning to

receive

 

Pardon me but

when the

director saw me

she just

couldn’t believe.

 

Keoshia by Kristina Johnson 2009

 Parody of Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" 

Keoshia, I had to slap you.

But you left before I had time--

Cement heavy, a bag full of stuff,

Ugly pictures with one guy

Big as a Wal-mart.

 

There's eyeliner in your heart

The employees never liked you,

Getting smart and laughing at you.

I always knew it was you.

Keoshia, Keoshia, you ****, I'm through.

 

Highlights of 2007-2008

 

AP English Hits Broadway!

 

 

Check out more pictures from our trip to the Big Apple.

 

Parody Poems

More Poems Click on link to see the original poem and the rest of the class' parodies.

 

The Bright Yellow Pencil by Kristen Shaver 2008

  Parody of William Carlos Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow"   

 

so much depends

upon

 

the bright yellow

pencil

 

stuck with a pink

eraser

 

doing a handstand

on its point.