AP® English

AP® English is a college-level class and allows students to earn college credits in high school. This class is uniquely created and is the only online class available that prepares students for two AP® tests in one year. This class is open to 11th and 12th graders who have already received high school English training. The student does not have to have taken a formal literature class to be accepted but should still be well-read.

$1,035.00

Students prepare for the following College Board tests in this 30-week course:

AP® English Literature & Composition
AP® English Language & Composition

AP® English is a a year-long course. The first semester will be spent on thematic units exploring close reading of various texts from the Greeks through the 19th century and the second semester will focus on modernism and postmodernism paired with nonfiction articles.

All of our students have passed the test with a score indicating successful master of the subject matter at a college level. Nationwide, only about 60% of all test takers passed the tests at this level. Almost all of our students pass the tests, with a passing rate of 85%. Almost a quarter of our students pass with a perfect score (the national average is 10%).

This course has been approved by the College Board’s AP® Course Audit Program and authorized for both examinations.

Our instructor, Veldorah Rice, has extensive training and accreditations in AP® English instruction. She completed specialized training through the University of California, Los Angeles, and La Roche College, focusing on both AP® English Literature and Composition and AP® English Language and Composition.

Details

Requirements

Sample Syllabus

Time Expectation:

Classes have daily assignments. Some assignments span several days to give flexibility. Assignments are intended to take approximately 1½ hours a day to complete.

Class Objectives:

Development and revision of evidence-based analyytic and argumentative writing
Ability to rhetorically analyze both fiction and nonfiction wiorks
Clearly evaluate, synthesize, and cite research
Analysis of images for rhetorical elements
Cultivate understanding of literature through reading and analysis of texts
Explore different genres of literature through literary techniques such as structure, perspective, figurative language
Develop and revise literary analysis writing
Become familiar with the elements of the AP English Language and AP English Literature exams.

Class Features:

Students will submit their narrative and poetry to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards writing contest
Students will have daily contact with a coach who evaluates mastery and skills and peers to discuss activities and workshop writing
Students will practice all essay styles that appear on the AP English Literature and AP English Language tests, and will complete one full practice test for each exam.
Students will complete several essays and creative pieces, including a research paper.

Required Class Materials:

Write from the Heart: A Resource Guide to Engage Writers—available in our online store
Everything’s an Argument by Andrea Lunsford and John J. Ruskiewicz
Heart of Darkness, Norton Critical Edition by Joseph Conrad
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster

Additionally, students will select from the following texts and read two of them:

Marlowe, Christopher. Dr. Faustus.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex.
Williams, Tennessee. Glass Menagerie.
Shakespeare, William. Othello.

Upcoming Assignment: In Week 21, we will read The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Please make sure you have a copy in hand by then. Monday: Complete the following activities:

Go back to your peers’ responses to “A Modest Proposal” and respond to their thoughts. This should be an open-ended discussion that continues through the week. Your responses should be formulated to generate further discussion.
Look at the attachment “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and BEFORE READING, complete the five pre-reading questions listed in the “Reading Nonfiction” attachment. Post them in the topic Sinners Pre-reading” found on the “Sinners Discussion” folder.
AFTER you do the pre-reading, read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” according to the “Reading Nonfiction” attachment. Instead of writing a thoughtpiece, you will be creating your own discussion. Go to the “Sinners Discussion” Board and post a topic for discussion. It can be about anything—the structure, style, themes, rhetoric, anything! Use what you have learned from both Foster and Everything’s an Argument to bring something to the group. This does NOT have to be a question, although it could be. You are observing, expounding on your observation, and asking for further input (either through a question or a general “open-ended thought”). Go to the “Sinners Discussion” Board for an example from Miss Rice. The goal here is for us to cover the main ideas of the piece along with the structure and rhetoric of how the piece functions.

Tuesday: Complete the following activities:

Interact with your peers on the “Sinners Discussion” Board.
Read the document “Heart of Darkness Activities.”
Read the following pieces in the 5th Norton Critical Edition of Heart of Darkness:

PAGE 2

“Joseph Conrad: A Chronology” (pg 471-473). Heart of Darkness is based on his experience in the Congo while King Leopold was in power, which is why information on Leopold is listed there as well.
“Congo under Leopold II” by David Van Reybrouk, pgs 107-123. Note that there are a few depictions of violence in this document. The pictures on pgs 178-192.

Based on what you have read, what do you believe the tone of Heart of Darkness will be? What do you think the story will be about, and what do you think might happen? Post your response in the topic “First Thoughts on HOD.” Wednesday-Thursday: Complete the following activities:

Read Heart of Darkness, pgs. 3-15. Stop after the third paragraph on pg. 15, when the Swede says “Four boxes did you say? So. Farewell.” Please read slowly and carefully. You may need to reread passages to ensure that you understand what is going on.
Post a plot summary for this section in the topic “HOD Plot Summaries.” Label your topic with the pages you are covering. This only needs to be a few sentences at most.
Post your two topics/comments in the HOD Discussion Board as explained in the attachment “Heart of Darkness Activities.”
You have a speed test and an essay to turn in on Friday. If you have extra time today and would like to lighten your load on Friday, do one or both of them now.

Friday: Complete the following activities:

Read Heart of Darkness, pgs. 15-31. Stop at the end of part I. Please read slowly and carefully. You may need to reread passages to ensure that you understand what is going on.
Post a plot summary for this section in the topic “HOD Plot Summaries.” Label your topic with the pages you are covering. This only needs to be a few sentences at most.
Post your two topics/comments in the HOD Discussion Board as explained in the attachment “Heart of Darkness Activities.” You may post in topics started yesterday, or create new ones.
Today, will have another speed test. Go to the topic “Week 19 Speed Test.” You will see a collection of three AP essay test questions posted there as an attachment. When you open it, set the timer. You have 30 minutes to read and write an outline for ALL THREE of the questions. Do NOT write an essay for these questions. Please HANDWRITE your outlines first, during the timed period. After your time is up, please type the outlines into the Forum as a reply in the “Week 19 Speed Test” topic.
Go back through your three handwritten essays from Weeks 15, 17 & 18 and choose ONE of the essays to submit for a grade. Type or scan the essay Post your essay AS AN ATTACHMENT in the topic “Week 18 Essay Test for Grade.” You will be graded on the six-point AP scale, and will be worth 50 test grade points. Please allow one week to receive your grade.