PRE-ADVANCED PLACEMENT/ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH

Monterey High School

Carter – 9th, Burnett – 9th, Bennett – 10th, Perkins – 10th, Barnett – 10th, Self – 10th, Nelson – 11th, Mills – 12th

 

Introduction

Advanced Placement is a nation-wide program administered by the College Board.  Consequently, all assignments and readings are developed as based on training from the College Board.  Teachers across the nation expect the same level of ability and offer the same quality and expertise to all students.  The Advanced Placement English program at Monterey High School is a four-year plan.  Pre-AP English I & II are skill-based in content while AP English III and IV focus on the application of these skills in literature.  AP English, at all levels, is an intense study of literature with a major emphasis on analysis through written expression.  The overall goals are to use honest and effective language and to organize ideas in a clear, coherent, and persuasive way.  To achieve these goals, you will be carefully reading numerous literary works, always with the focus on close reading, on mastering the tools and techniques of analyzing literature.  In one sense, this simply means refining your powers of thinking.  More specifically, you will be learning to read each work with a critical awareness of the full range of its stylistic features, its structure, its meaning, and its value.  Keep in mind our more specific goals:

            1)     to sharpen an awareness of language,

            2)     to understand the writer’s craft,

            3)     to develop critical standards for the independent appreciation of any literary work,

            4)     to increase sensitivity to literature as shared experience, and

            5)     to develop personal voices in written expression.

 

AP English is designed for students who are willing to devote the extra time and energy necessary to complete a course more rigorous and demanding than other high school English courses.  We will be reading and discussing the more mature forms of poetry, drama, short stories, novels, and non-fiction.  We will be covering a large number of works at a fairly rapid pace while at the same time considering those works in more depth than the students may have done in the past.  These factors obviously require a commitment from all of us.  We have a great deal of work ahead, and you will learn to think and write with greater maturity than the average person.  In addition, you will do more work than the average student.  Remember, being prepared is more than reading the assignment; think and come to class with questions and comments.  Read actively!

 

Advanced Placement English I, II, III, and IV are weighted honors courses.  According to school guidelines, you must maintain a minimum average of 80 in these classes in order to remain in the program.  Failure to maintain an 80 at each six weeks increment will result in a probationary period.  A student must raise the average to an 80 by the third week of the following six weeks (progress report), or you will be moved to a regular English class.  Additionally, more than one six weeks average below an 80 will immediately place the student in a regular class.

 

Papers

You will have some kind of writing activity each week, whether it is an in-class essay, an essay exam, journal entries, or a formal critical paper prepared outside of class.  During the second semester of Pre-AP English II, one of these assignments will be a research project.  The research paper for AP English IV will occur in the first semester.  All written work should abide by the following standard.

·         In-class papers should be written in blue or black ink on one side of the paper.

·         Do not skip lines between paragraphs.

·         Typed papers should be double-spaced throughout the paper without extra lines between paragraphs.

·         Typed papers should have one-inch margins and follow the format prescribed in the MLA stylebook.

·         Use #12 Times font when printing.

·         Use a double-spaced MLA heading for typed papers.  On hand-written papers, use an MLA heading above the top line

 

 

 

Tests and Quizzes

Exams will cover discussion notes, study guides, and assigned readings.  Reading quizzes will be very thorough, so you need to study efficiently and completely (once again, closely) or you will do poorly.  The format of exams, which will vary from unit to unit, will typically be a mixture of objective questions, short answer, and essay.  In addition, unannounced quizzes will follow reading assignments, so it is imperative that you read daily assignments.  If you are absent, you will still be held accountable for the reading assignments.

 

Homework and Extra Credit

Primarily, homework amounts to reading, thinking, and writing.  You will have a very specific reading schedule, and I expect you to keep up and have assignments prepared on time.  You are responsible for your learning in this course.  Your choice to participate is proof to me that you welcome that responsibility.

 

You will be writing journal entries over a majority of the works covered this year.  Journals are for your benefit, to help you read actively and become involved in the works, but also, I will collect these journals and take a grade based on your responses.

 

I do offer extra credit each six weeks.  Do not try to rely on the extra credit because it will not be enough to replace a zero.

 

Late Work Policy

All assignments must be handed in on time for full credit.  If you hand in an assignment one day late, you will only be able to get half credit for it.  After one day, the grade will be recorded as a zero.  Major assignments such as research papers and projects will not be accepted late.  This late work policy is strictly enforced for your benefit.  If you have a family emergency, you will need to see me and/or e-mail me to explain the situation or else I will be unaware of these unusual circumstances.

 

Make-up Work Policy

Attendance is extremely important.  Hearing the class discussion is vital if you want to do well on tests and essays.  Getting someone’s notes is only second-hand information.  Keep up with assignments by keeping your syllabus handy.  If confused about an assignment or the syllabus, see or e-mail me in time to keep up with your work. 

 

Most of you are involved in activities that will take you away from the classroom at various times throughout the year.  Some of you will miss school due to doctor’s appointments and parent request days.  If you know in advance that you will be absent, you must plan to hand in your work or take a scheduled test before the absence.  People who wait until after the absence will start at half credit on reading quizzes.  Being absent because of a school-related activity requires, by LISD policy, that all work be done BEFORE the absence.  

 

In the event that you are ill and miss school, you must make up your work or, with multiple absences, make arrangements for completing your missed work upon the day of your return to school.  If a test has been announced and you miss the day before, you will have to take the test on time.  If you are absent the day of the test, you will make it up the day you return to school.  If you are at school on the day of the test but miss this period, you must take the test that day.

 

All major papers, especially the research paper, are due on or before the date assigned.  If you are not at school on the due date, make arrangements for the paper to be turned in sometime that day or you will, once again, only be able to earn half-credit.

 

You will be given a syllabus periodically for the purpose of planning.  Each teacher’s syllabus will also be posted on the Monterey website.  You are accountable for handing in the work on the schedule.

 

These policies are necessary in order to get graded papers back to each of you in a timely manner.

 

Tardy Policy

Tardies are extremely inconvenient and disruptive, so plan to be on time to each class period.  Tardiness will result in punitive consequences, according to Monterey policy. 

 

Plagiarism and Cheating

Complete honesty is required in all class work; any failure to comply with the policy will result in a failing grade for the assignment.  Even students who work together should hand in distinctive, individual assignments.  Reading Cliff’s Notes (or any equivalent “study aid”) instead of the novel is considered cheating.  Plagiarism is using information from a secondary source and failing to give credit to the source; Cliff’s Notes is a secondary source.  Furthermore, Cliff (like all “study aids”) is written on a 6th grade level.  You must read at a much higher level or your reading grades will be poor.  To learn to read difficult texts, you must do so on your own or your skills will never improve.  Consequently, you will learn nothing from my class because you did not do the work yourself, but cheated, instead.  There will be zero tolerance for cheating.  If you need help, ask me.

 

Suggestions

The following suggestions are common sense hints for success to make your experience in AP English one that will make you a better student both in high school and college.  The most important suggestion that you should heed is that you must plan ahead.  Practice good discipline habits in keeping up with reading assignments.  Maintain a positive attitude.  You need to listen carefully; take good notes; hand in all assignments on time; prepare for tests efficiently; complete all reading assignments; and be organized.  Ultimately, responsibility is the key word to success!  I want you to be prepared, competent, and confident to meet the demands of your high school and college career.

 

We will strive to make this class challenging, worthwhile, and enjoyable.  To do so, a great deal of dedication will be required from all of us.  We are excited to have you join the Advanced Placement program here at Monterey.  We take pride in our program and its successes.  In addition to providing you with the scholastic skills that you need to succeed, we also believe that the high standards of the program will promote responsibility, maturity, and confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please sign on the designated lines below showing that you have read the AP policy statement and agree to the stated requirements.  If not returned to me by the end of the first six weeks, the student will receive an “incomplete” grade until I have it on file.

 

Parent or Guardian ____________________________   Student (print, please) __________________