Course Description
English Language and Composition
Introduction
AP* by the Sea's English Language and Composition workshop is designed for those new or relatively new to teaching the subject. Participants will be trained in approaches in keeping with the AP* Program's dedication "to developing excellent college-level courses for high school students." Participants can expect to gain the skills and information necessary to begin successfully teaching the course. Participants will understand the common approaches to the subject with its emphasis on rhetoric and composition, and yet also see how it may be theme based, language based, or genre based. They will understand how to adapt those approaches in ways that are best suited to their particular students, existing curriculum, and school setting.
Participants will received detailed information about the "new" AP* Language exam. We will specifically discuss what changes teachers and students can expect and how to address those changes in the classroom.
Our goal is to present a rich variety of useful materials, to share our expertise, and to provide valuable professional stimulation. The bulk of the workshop will be practical as we deal with those details that help answer the question, "What do I do on Monday?"
AP* LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION EXAMINATION
During the course we will deal extensively with the test itself and its relative importance in developing and teaching the course. We will look closely at the various types of questions on both the multiple-choice and essay sections of the exam. Participants will be taught effective methods for training their students and reviewing for the exam. Participants can expect to leave the workshop familiar with the nine-point AP* rubric and how use it to train student writers and to effectively read and score student papers.
CRITICAL READING AND STYLE ANALYSIS
In addition to working with the exam itself, the workshop will emphasize a course essential: critical reading and style analysis. Beginning with the end in mind, we will identify those skills necessary for successful college-level reading and the strategies with which we can best train our students. We will compare and contrast style analysis of literary texts with rhetorical analysis of nonfiction to understand what distinctions are pertinent for us and our students to know. Special attention will be given to choice of text, reading assignments, and teaching strategies that strengthen close reading skills. Because the course often is, as it is described in the AP* Language and Composition Teacher's Guide , "a literature survey threaded with rhetorical emphasis, [it is] important to choose or augment texts with nonfiction and nonliterary readings that force students to consider the linguistic power and expository effectiveness of various writers and prose pieces." We will talk about how to make that a reality in a high school classroom.
WRITING IN AP* LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Effective writing is an essential element for student success in AP* Language and Composition. In order to add dimension to the label "effective writing," we will thoroughly discuss how much and what kinds of writing students need to do. We will discuss strategies to help students develop their own personal style and voice as well as a mature academic perspective and voice. Although we will discuss a variety of rhetorical modes, including narrative, exposition, definition, and cause and effect, particular attention will be given to argument and persuasion. In our discussions of both style analysis and writing, participants will come to understand why and how the rhetorical mode of "argument" is a cornerstone on the exam and in the course. We will differentiate between teaching on-demand, timed writing, required on the AP* exam and multi-draft writing, necessary in any college freshman composition course. Participants will be given strategies and assignments suitable to each process.
Tentative Daily Schedule
Day 1
- Nuts and Bolts of Teaching AP* Language and Composition, including: the basic elements and how to start planning, role of the exam in planning, text selection, types of assignments, methods for monitoring student progress and grading, the vocabulary of rhetorical analysis, frequently asked questions
- College Board Resources
- Introduction to the Exam
- Teaching Writing in AP* Language and Composition
Day 2
- Writing Continued
- The New "Synthesis" Question in AP* Language
- AP* Rubric
- The 2006 Language Exam, Question 1
Day 3
- Critical Reading and Style Analysis Continued
- Rhetorical Modes: Argument and Persuasion
- The 2006 Language Exam, Question 2
Day 4
- Using American Literature to Teach AP* Language
- Introduction to Multiple Choice
- The 2006 Language Exam, Question 3
Day 5
- Multiple Choice Continued
- Changes in the AP* Language Exam & teaching strategies for address those changes
- Question and Answers for Unfinished Business
- Course Evaluations
