Course Overview
Students in AS Level Literature will develop collegiate writing and critical analysis skills while studying Cambridge University’s assigned texts in preparation for the international Paper 3 and Paper 4 exams. Supplemental texts and activities will also be assigned for the purposes of skill building and practice. All class readings will be complimented by rigorous discussion, which in turn will lead to practical applications of the writing process as defined by Cambridge University standards.
This course is designed to prepare students to pass the Cambridge International exams and receive college credit for their efforts. Additionally, those who excel in this course may be eligible to promote to A Level Literature and access additional opportunities to earn college credit in the following year.
Course Goals/Standards
Per the Cambridge syllabus, all successful AS Level Literature students will demonstrate the following:
Class Standards:
Appreciation of and informed personal response to literature in English in a range of texts in different forms, and from different periods and cultures
Interdependent skills of reading, analysis, and communication
Effective and appropriate communication
Wider reading and an understanding of how it may contribute to personal development
Assessment Standards:
AO1: The ability to respond to texts in the three main forms (Prose, Poetry, and Drama) of different types and from different cultures
AO2: An understanding of the ways in which writers’ choices of form, structure and language shape meanings
AO3: The ability to produce informed, independent opinions and judgments on literary texts
AO4: The ability to communicate clearly the knowledge, understanding, and insight appropriate for literary study
AO5: The ability to appreciate and discuss varying opinions of literary works
Course Outline
Below is a general course outline of the texts selected for study throughout the 2017-2018 school year:
Poetry
Claude McKay, The White House
Arthur Lemiere Hendriks, The Migrant
Carol Rumens, The Border Builder
Imtiaz Dharker, These Are The Times We Live In
John Donne, This is my play’s last scene
William Bell Scott, Death
Robert Louis Stevenson, Requiem
Emily Brontë, Last Lines
Sir Walter Scott, Soldier, Rest!
Mary Monck, Verses written on her Death-bed
Christina Rossetti, I dream of you, to wake
Elizabeth Thomas, The Forsaken Wife
Edmund Spenser, Amoretti, Sonnet 86
Thomas Wyatt, I Find No Peace
John Cassidy, Sons, Departing
Ben Jonson, On My First Daughter
John Goodby, The Uncles
Charlotte Mew , Rooms
Alun Lewis, Song
Elinor Wylie, Now let no charitable hope
Alexander Pope, from An Essay on Criticism
Samuel Johnson, from The Vanity of Human Wishes
John Keats, Ode on Melancholy
William Blake, To the Evening Star
Philip Sidney, To Sleep
John Milton, Evening in Paradise (Paradise Lost, Book IV, Lines 598-609)
Samuel Daniel, Care-charmer Sleep
Short Stories
Assigned Prose from Stories of Ourselves:
Raymond Carver, Elephant
Borden Deal, The Taste of Watermelon
Arthur Conan Doyle, How it Happened
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Hollow of the Three Hills
Ted Hughes, The Rain Horse
Graham Greene, The Destructors
V S Pritchett, The Fly in The Ointment
Ahdaf Soueif, Sandpiper
H G Wells, The Door in the Wall
Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince
P G Wodehouse, The Custody of the Pumpkin
Virginia Woolf, The Lady in the Looking Glass: A Reflection
Shakespearean Drama
Henry IV, Part 2
Twelfth Night
Classroom Policies
Be prepared to work - Be in class and ready to work at the official start time for the class. Come to class with all necessary materials for success. Take responsibility for your own learning.
Be appropriate - Any conduct, which is harmful, obstructive, disruptive, or interferes with the educational process is prohibited. You are expected to respect the educational environment. All Arizona State University Preparatory policies will be strictly adhered to and enforced in this classroom, including but not limited to the use of electronic devices, dress code, and academic dishonesty.
Be attentive - You are responsible for attaining information given. You are also expected to be present and engaged from the beginning of class to the end. Offer ideas, participate in discussions and group activities, and complete your own work. To this end, all cell phones and other personal electronic devices should be stowed and placed on silent before entry into class. In the event of an emergency, ask the teacher for permission to use your cell phone.
Be positive - Enjoy the opportunity to learn and respectfully listen to ideas and opinions that may differ from your own opinions. Put forth your best effort with every endeavor.
Absences/Late Work
It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of his/her absences and make-up work. In the event that you are absent, visit the teachers’ Weebly Webpage where you will find the course’s online plan book. You can link directly to the teachers’ pages from your child’s Weebly web page.
If you miss a test/quiz/essay, you will need to schedule a time during office hours for tutoring before you will be allowed to make up the work. Effort assignments are not accepted past the due date. Academic assignments and assessments to demonstrate mastery will be accepted after the due date without penalty for a period of 5 days.
Outstanding student circumstances will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Whenever possible, the instructor should be notified of such circumstances in advance.
Please see the table below for additional information regarding late work:
Student Attendance
1st Violation
5 tardies in 1 class = 1 absence
Consequence = Lunch Detention
Further Violation
Lunch Detention + Community Service
Plagiarism
It is the responsibility of the student to not deceive the instructor in any way in regard to the authorship of the work that he/she presents as his/her own. Consequences for plagiarism will be in accordance with the Arizona State University Preparatory student code of conduct. Plagiarism will be reported to the administration.
Classroom Procedures
No food, drink, gum, or candy in class. Closed water bottles only!
Be prepared to write every day.
Remain in assigned seat unless directed otherwise.
Pencil sharpening, throwing away papers, etc. will take place prior to the start of class.
Once you have entered the classroom, you are in “learning mode” and will begin completing the daily seatwork.
Socializing/horseplay will not take place within the classroom.
With a limited number of minutes in the class and many objectives, we must work diligently at all times.
Passes from class will be limited. Students need to be in class at all times in order to effectively participate.
In an effort to “go green,” students will be required to participate in online discussions and submit formal essays and typed assignments.
Grading Information
Students enrolled at ASU Preparatory Academy will receive two letter grades in each of their courses. One of the letter grades is an academic grade that demonstrates if the student mastered the course objectives. The second grade is an effort grade that could reflect attendance, participation, discussions, or completion of practice assignments. Both of the letter grades will adhere to the following grading scale, but only the academic grade will be reflected on the student’s final transcript and included in the grade point average.
A* Exceeds Plus 97 – 100
A Exceeds 90 – 96
B Meets 80 – 89
C Approaches 70 – 79
D Approaches 60 – 69
F Falls Far Below 50 – 59
Syllabus Acknowledgement
Please complete the syllabus signature page with the appropriate signatures acknowledging receipt of this syllabus at: lmeyerasuprep.weebly.com
Thank you,
Leslie Meyer