:: 2013 AP* Summer Institutes at UT Austin

AP English Literature and Composition for New AP Teachers
Institute Code AP13036
This institute is closed for registration.

Participants in the English Literature for Beginning Teachers session will review the expectations for the AP English Literature and Composition course, familiarize themselves with the curriculum, audit process, and national exam, and explore the content and methods necessary to achieve the goals of the English Literature program. During the week, we will focus on developing methods for improving students’ close reading and multiple choice performance, creating and implementing student workshops to walk students through the process of literary analysis of prose, drama, and poetry, developing methods to increase student writing practice while lightening the teacher grading load, and investigating various review strategies to prepare students for the rigorous exam. In our sessions, we will discuss developing an AP course that includes works from the major eras of literature covered on the exam including working to develop multi-genre units with a true focus on student skill development. Content area topics include but are not limited to: the literary hero, Shakespeare studies with a focus on character types and motif analysis, the sonnet form as a basis for strengthening poetry analysis techniques, satire study and practice for close reading, building a bridge between American and British Romantic poets, the poetry and art connection, and other multi-genre studies Overall, the principle focus will be to create lessons and units that develop a student’s ability to analyze a passage for deeper understanding and connect an author’s style to his purpose while also remembering to keep the fun in the classroom.

Lead Consultant: Elizabeth Davis
Elizabeth Davis is a 1988 graduate of Texas A&M University with an English Composite teaching field. After fifteen years at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, her family made the move in 2004 to Austin where she now teaches AP and on-level English at Westwood High School for Round Rock ISD. In her teaching career, Elizabeth has taught Advanced Placement, honors, and on-level senior and junior English, sponsored the yearbook and student council, and served as English Department chair at both high schools. She has also taught SAT preparation and worked with the Medical School at Texas A&M University preparing potential students for the MCAT exam. Having taught both the English Literature and the English Language courses over the past twenty-four years has helped deepen her understanding of making connections and building bridges between the two courses and has also reinforced the importance of teaching writing and analysis at all levels of the vertical team. Outside the classroom, Elizabeth enjoys being a wife, a mother of two boys, and a member of her church choir and ladies ensemble.

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