Units of Study:
Because of the changes to the AP test in 2007, I’ve reconceptualized this course into six topics of study. Each unit will require lengthier core readings, shorter pieces, and visual components. In addition, each unit will be linked to the numerous skills being developed in this course. The following abbreviated list will present the basic idea:
Essential Questions:
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How does language influence thought? |
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How does thought influence language? |
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How do writers engage readers? |
Texts:
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Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn |
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Everyday Use by David Jolliffe and Hephzibah Roskelly |
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Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok (bridge piece) |
Skills -
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Identifying purpose |
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Identifying tone (DIDLS) |
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Assessing structure of works |
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Understanding literary elements |
Major project: Two Angles of Vision
Essential Questions:
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Which is more influential, an individual or a society? |
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When is one "more right" than the other? |
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How do people (characters) balance their individual desires within a societal framework--especially when they conflict? |
Texts:
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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne |
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“Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau |
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“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. |
Skills:
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Identifying purpose (SOAPS) |
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Understanding context |
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Understanding diction |
Major Project: Columnist Project
Essential Questions:
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What is reality? How do we know? |
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How do characters deal with learning that their reality is based on false assumptions? |
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How do various authors from various time periods explore the same theme? |
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How is the message bound by the genre of the text? |
Texts:
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“Allegory of the Cave” by Plato |
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The Crucible by Arthur Miller |
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The Matrix by the Wachowski Brothers |
Skills:
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Comparing genres across time |
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Understanding Allegory |
Essential Questions:
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Physical differences aside, how are men and women hard-wired differently? |
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How is Beloved a feminist retelling of an actual slave's story? |
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What is the backlash against feminists in a modern society and what place is left for men--especially the Caucasian male--as women fight for equality? |
Texts:
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Beloved by Toni Morrison |
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Various readings from Susan Faludi |
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“It’s a Woman’s World” by Eavan Boland |
Skills:
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Understanding context |
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Understanding point of view and bias |
Major Project: Reverse DBQ
Essential Questions:
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What is the American Dream? |
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How do various authors comment on what the dream means to them? |
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Are there differences between how Fitzgerald (fiction, 1920s) conceives of the dream versus how Kingston (nonfiction/memoir, 1970s) views it? |
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How is language essential to conveying an impression? |
Texts:
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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald |
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Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston |
Skills:
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Understanding symbols, themes |
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Analyzing passages in depth |
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Imitating master writers |
Essential Questions:
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Friedman asserts that because of technology and globalization, the opportunities for success in the world are leveling out. Is this true? |
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Do you think it will be true in your lifetime? |
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Friedman also claims that if America does not adapt quickly, America will lose its position in the world market. How can America adapt? |
Texts:
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Excerpt from The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman |
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Various Newsweek articles |
Skills:
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Applying predictions to our lives |
Seeking Serendipity Assignment:
For each unit of study, you will be required to supplement
your readings with other texts which you locate. You should opt to discover a
variety of genres in your search for texts which extend our meaning of the
unit. (Possible genres: column, article, song, speech, visual (political
cartoon, chart, graph, photograph, advertisement, etc.), website, etc.)
