English 12 Syllabus

WHY THIS IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT CLASS

English 12 is a class designed to enable students to become skilled readers of wide range of literature,
including prose, poetry, and short stories. Students are expected to read and respond to a variety of
literature, independently, in group discussion and in writing. All facets of language arts - listening,
speaking, reading, and writing will be covered. The study of language in use – grammar, mechanics,
sentence structure, and usage will be incorporated in this yearlong course as well.

Unit One: Invisible Man

In this unit, students will analyze and experience Ralph Ellison’s acclaimed 1952 novel, Invisible Man.
This National Book Award winning work follows an unnamed African American narrator from the Deep
South to Harlem, New York as he searches for meaning and truth. Exploring themes of racism, identity,
and truth, Ellison brings readers on a journey of invisibility and self-discovery that poses a harsh critique
of American society. While reading the novel, students will trace the narrator’s “Hero’s Journey” journey
from innocence to self-discovery. They will simultaneously analyze Ellison’s use of the narrator’s journey
to deliver his own messages on race and racism in American society, including harsh critiques of some of
the most prominent figures in African American history.

The primary literary analysis skills focus of the unit will be on analyzing the narrator and how the author
uses the narrator’s development to communicate his themes. Students will trace the major motifs and
symbols of the novel, also with an eye to theme development. In addition to the reading of the novel,
students will read several non-fiction pieces, analyzing how each author develops his or her point of
view. Throughout the unit, students will discuss, debate and write about questions mapped to the
Common Core standards and modeled on question types from the new (2016) SAT exam.

TEXTS AND MATERIALS CORE MATERIALS

Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (Vintage Books, 1980.)

SUPPORTING MATERIALS
Video: “An Introduction to Ralph Ellison” (PBS Learning Media)
Video: “Luke Cage” (Netix)
Video: “Louis Armstrong - (What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue - New York, 22.07. 1929”
Video: “Invisible Man: The Hero's Journey” (PBS Learning Media)
Article: “The Hero’s Journey” by Joseph Campbell
Article: “Booker T. Washington” (Thirteen)
Video: “Jazz: A Metaphor for America” (PBS Learning Media)
Poem: “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Book: 12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright (Basic Books 2002)
Article: “Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr.”
Video: “Backwater Blues” by Bessie Smith
Lyrics: Backwater Blues
Article: “The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA)” by britannica.com
Primary Source: Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World
Letter: “Primary Sources: Writing to the U.S. Attorney-General -- "Garvey Must Go"”

Unit Two: The Great Gatsby

As students read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, they will conduct in-depth
character analysis of Gatsby and evaluate how Fitzgerald uses the character of Gatsby, as well as other
literary devices, to comment on the society and values of the American 1920s. Students will consider
issues of social class and the impact of history and memory on the lives of the characters as well as on
our own.

While we do not typically take a stand on whether reading is done in class or at home, this particular
unit is most suited to students reading the majority of the novel at home, allowing class time for
analyzing key excerpts as well as writing about and discussing the text.  If the teacher would like to read
in class, she or he should allow for the number of lessons to be roughly double the estimate below.

This unit has three Supplementary AP Projects related to the theme of consumerism. In the rst two
projects, students will read multiple short documents and write a synthesis essay (similar to FRQ 1).
Then, students will compose responses to the FRQ 3 essay prompt from the 2005 AP English Language
and Composition Exam. The emphasis of this third project will be developing and communicating an
informed opinion on the topic of wealth inequality. 

CORE MATERIALS

Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Scribner, 2004)

SUPPORTING MATERIALS

Article: “"The Great Gatsby": Thirty-Six Years After” by A.E. Dyson (JSTOR) Article: “8 Ways 'The Great
Gatsby' Captured the Roaring Twenties - And Its Dark Side” by Sarah Pruitt (History.com)
Article: “Gatsby's Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers” by Sara Rimer (New York Times)
Movie: The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann, 2013
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