Honors AP English Literature and Composition

2022-2023 Course Overview

Mrs. Kaminski

Welcome to Honors AP English Literature and Composition! I am glad each of you has risen to the challenge of continuing your Honors English experience. Our curriculum for this year will focus on the skills and competencies required by the College Board. We will study several novels, plays, and shorter works. You will also complete two research based projects and write a number of pieces, both fiction and non-fiction. Each of you will also be required to read several literary works of your own choice. Finally, you will all be working toward a culminating exam, the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition exam in May. I am excited about the upcoming school year, and I am looking forward to getting to know each of you and studying literature together.

1. Expectations

Your junior year is a challenging one. I am committed to helping you through this year by creating a curriculum and class environment in which each of you will be able to succeed. If you wish to succeed, then you should be prepared to read all assigned works, participate in class discussions, thoughtfully complete homework, quizzes, and tests, write and revise meaningful essays, and come to class prepared and ready to work. I will be prepared to create challenging and interesting lessons and assignments and to provide extra help or clearer explanations when it becomes necessary.  

According to the Course Description for Advanced Placement English provided by the College Board: 

Through the close reading of selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers.  As they read, students should consider a work’s structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.

Writing instruction includes attention to developing and organizing ideas in clear, coherent, and persuasive language.  It includes study of the elements of style.  And it attends to matters of precision and correctness as necessary.  Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity. . .

These statements reflect our goals for AP Honors English this year, and class assignments will be designed to reach the College Board objectives.  Throughout the year, you will read extensively, participating in class discussions and activities related to your reading. You should expect to read about one book per month in addition to reading various shorter pieces, writing essays, and completing projects. You will write, conference, revise, and re-write frequently, ultimately producing a body of work that demonstrates your breadth, depth, and growth as a writer.

This is a college level class for which many of you may receive college credit, so you should be prepared to purchase some of your own materials, register for the AP exam and pay the exam fee of approximately $95 (due this month), do a significant amount of work both in class and on your own, and reach new levels of critical thinking, discussion, and writing.

1. Supplies Needed

For this class you will need a three-ring binder with some loose-leaf paper. Every day you should bring your binder, charged Chromebook, pen, and the book we are currently reading. You may also bring food or drink with you as long as this does not become disruptive or messy.

I am considering whether we will use a review book throughout the year.  I will provide more information about purchasing this book by the end of October.

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3. Grading Policy

My grading policy is straightforward and should become clear early in the school year. I will grade on a point system, in which larger assignments are worth more points. For example, journal exercises will be worth about 10 points, homework assignments and quizzes 10 to 30 points, and essays and tests will be worth 50 to 100 points. At the end of the quarter, I will add up the number of points you have earned and divide it by the number of points possible. That percentage will be your grade for the quarter. Daily homework will be worth a maximum of 20% of each quarterly grade. The four quarter grades and your final exam grade will each be worth 1/5 of your final course grade for the year

An important part of each quarter’s grade is your participation grade.  Verbally participating in a discussion actually helps you learn the material and formulate your thoughts; it will be an important skill in many of your college classes.  Every day in class, I will keep track of your involvement in class discussion and activities.  You can raise your participation grade through paying attention throughout the entire period, demonstrating interest and enthusiasm, raising your hand and sharing your thoughts or questions when appropriate, and contributing to group activities.  You will lower your participation grade if you work on other assignments during class time, interrupt the class, talk to your neighbor rather than paying attention, put your head down, come unprepared to class, or act in a way that distracts the rest of the class from learning. 

Prior to submitting each written assignment, you will receive oral and written guidelines in class. Rubrics will be used frequently to ease grading and provide useful, specific feedback for writing assignments. Each rubric used throughout the course is designed to be a flexible tool; occasionally, an assignment must be graded without the benefit of the usual rubric because the writer has not completely followed the assignment guidelines, has not demonstrated appropriate effort, or has not revised significantly. An assignment that strays significantly from the guidelines will not be graded; rather, you will have the opportunity to conference with me and re-write the assignment within a specified time period. Be assured that all assignments will be graded consistently and fairly, with the ultimate goals of helping you to grow as a critical and creative writer and earn the best possible score on the AP exam.

Each quarter, I hope to schedule one individual writing conference with each student, in which we will discuss revisions that you have made to a recent piece of writing. You will be expected to incorporate elements of writing that we have discussed in class, such as organizational strategies, effective diction and tone, sentence variety, appropriate development, and stylistic maturity. These conferences will provide the opportunity to individually apply the general principles that we have covered in class. Following the conference, you will complete at least one more revision of that piece.  

I may decide to offer a small number of extra credit possibilities throughout the year, but you should not rely on extra credit to significantly impact your grade.

4. Homework Policy

I believe that homework is necessary in order to follow up a lesson, prepare for a lesson, practice a specific skill, or help you to think about a certain topic, so I will assign a significant amount of homework, usually long-term assignments. I expect assignments to be completed carefully and thoughtfully. Each assignment that you hand in should be your own original work; copying and plagiarism are serious offenses with serious consequences. If you hand in an assignment that is not your own work, it will receive a zero. If this happens again, the consequences will be more serious. You may work together on an assignment only when specifically stated by me.

Assignments will be accepted for full credit by the end of the day in which they are due. The grade for late assignments will be reduced by 20 percent for each school day late . You will receive one free late homework pass per semester.  Save this for an emergency.  

Attendance

In the case of an absence from school, consult Google Classroom to find out what you are missing.  For each full day that you are absent, you have one day to make up the work from the absence. After that, it is late. (For example, if you are absent four full days in a row, you have four school days to make up the missing work and turn it in.) See me if there are extenuating circumstances. If you are in school for most of the day but you miss my class, I expect you to stay caught up on the classwork that you missed. See me in the morning or afternoon of the class that you missed if you have any questions. If you have a music lesson, see me before class to find out what you will miss. 

5. Communication

Google Classroom will be the central hub for all information for this class. Check Google Classroom for weekly and daily assignments, announcements, handouts, Google Meet link, etc. I will post assignments under “classwork” and announcements under “stream.” 

I check my email each school day, and I am happy to hear from you or your parents at any time (heidi.kaminski@lscsd.org).  You may also reach me by phone from 7:40 am to 3:15 pm each school day (549-2300 x2278). Leave a message if I am not able to answer, and I will return your call by the next school day.

I am requiring all students to sign up for Remind text messages this year. To subscribe to my text messages: send the message @2bon2b to the number 81010.

I’m looking forward to a challenging and fun year of English!