Jump to content

Menu

Recommended Posts

Does anyone have experience using Sonlight 600 for AP literature?  How did it go?

 

Also, I'd like to submit a syllabus to the CB incorporating core 600. Has anyone done this? Willing to share? Would be grateful as it may be something I could gently modify but also it would save valuable summer time. I know I love the core - just takes time to correlate to CB criteria. ANd getting access to the teacher community is of great value.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a degree in English and I have taught AP Lit with success to my daughter as well as to other students.

 

I am confused. The 600 level is a conglomeration of elective courses?

 

If you are referring to Brit Lit 630--That course does include a nice variety of excellent British literature. The only two I would quibble with are Peter Pan and the Alice books (both beautifully written children's literature but not high school AP lit). My concerns about this course are:

 

--Focusing on Brit lit only will not adequately prepare the student for the test. You want a broad variety of authors, genres, and eras.

 

--The vocab book is fine but not specifically useful for the AP.

 

--I have not used this particular Sonlight level. However, I have not been impressed with their Language Arts programs in the past. For AP lit, your student needs to really nail literature analysis, so I would veer towards a more beefy alternative for instruction in that style of writing.

 

--I would definitely add the book Essential Literary Terms (Norton) to an AP Lit course.

Edited by Harriet Vane
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it really depends on the student and the amount they read/write outside of a required class setting.

DD is an english strong kid. She never took an official class for an AP English exam.  She had already read so much literature on her own (she loves classic literature), and she already had the writing and comprehension skills necessary. All DD did for both AP Lang and AP lit was study the vocabulary and practice some of the writing prompts from the official tests released on the college board website.  I think she may have had one prep book to look through?  She did not have an official text.  She would then read through the released examples and scoring sets.  I never submitted an official syllabus to the college board for these classes.  I simply listed it on her transcript as English Language and Composition Honors with AP Exam

and English Literature Honors with AP Exam.  I then listed her AP exams scores (she scored a 5 on both exams).  

She did this alongside lots of reading of great literature and writing that wasn't technically AP material.

Edited by Attolia
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to Harriet and Attolia for varied responses. It is Core 630, the British Literature package, that I am looking at and they have starred off specific books as AP lit. This particular Sonlight Core has two writing exercises per week in addition to doing a research paper. I think my student is more like Attolia's and has read so much literature that Sonlight will be a good fit. And we are looking forward to the added extra writing.

 

I will take a look at Essential Literary Terms (Norton). I put it on hold through the library already! Thank you for the reccomendation.

 

I would be interested to find out if anyone on the forum has successfully used core 630 for their AP English and Literature course.

 

I do plan to substitute some of the books on the list. We have read the two you mentioned Harriet and would agree with Peter Pan.

 

Also, Sonlight requires Perrine's Structure, Sound and Sense which I am very excited  to use.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Does anyone have experience using Sonlight 600 for AP literature?  How did it go?

 

Also, I'd like to submit a syllabus to the CB incorporating core 600. Has anyone done this? Willing to share? Would be grateful as it may be something I could gently modify but also it would save valuable summer time. I know I love the core - just takes time to correlate to CB criteria. ANd getting access to the teacher community is of great value.

 

Robbin, I would ask Sonlight if they have a syllabus that has gone through the audit process that matches their course.  If they do, then you will be able to submit the same syllabus under their audit number.

 

However, while I think the reading list is strong, the instruction samples that are available for the first three weeks, seem weak.  Have you looked at the AP English Literature course description and have you looked at the sample syllabi and then compared it to the 630 sample?

 

ETA: Also, you said that you were looking forward to using Perrine's Structure, Sound and Sense, but Sonlight only uses Sound and Sense which is strictly poetry.  Personally, I would get an older volume of Perrine's Structure, Sound, and Sense and adapt it.

 

Edited by swimmermom3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On further reading through the sample, one of my concerns for AP - a college-level course - is the significant amount of proselytizing in the lessons. While it may serve a faith-specific objective, my concern would be in how the student translates that into the analysis portion of their essays for the exam. I will be curious to see if anyone has adapted this course for the AP exam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone have experience using Sonlight 600 for AP literature?  How did it go?

 

Also, I'd like to submit a syllabus to the CB incorporating core 600. Has anyone done this? Willing to share? Would be grateful as it may be something I could gently modify but also it would save valuable summer time. I know I love the core - just takes time to correlate to CB criteria. ANd getting access to the teacher community is of great value.

 

You will need to do some significant adaptation. This is the first scoring component:

 

"SC1 The course includes an intensive study of representative works such as those by authors cited

in the AP English Course Description. By the time the student completes English Literature

and Composition, he or she will have studied during high school literature from both British

and American writers, as well as works written in several genres from the sixteenth century to

contemporary times."

 

Your class is strictly British literature, so you have two choices:

 

1) If your student has covered a significant  amount of American literature (i.e. Honors American Literature and Composition - 11th grade), then keep Sonlight's course title and simply state "with AP exam" as Attolia mentioned.

 

2) If you want to label your course as "AP" and still want to submit your syllabus to CB for audit, then you will need to add some American literature.  You don't need to add a lot, but you will need some. Look for works that tie into what you are already covering.

 

SC1 also mentions "several genres from 16th century to contemporary times."    The Sonlight scope and sequence covers around 23 works over 36 weeks. You will probably want to edit this down. Remember that the AP exam is in the first part of May. Save works that may not matter to the exam for the last weeks of school after the exam.

 

The following works have never been cited on an AP English Lit exam: Peter Pan , A Severe Mercy, The Great Divorce,  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Right Ho, Jeeves, and Sherlock Holmes. These works cover 7 weeks, so this could ease some of the schedule and allow for more exam prep or again, read one or two of these after the exam.

 

AP English Lit teachers do not stick strictly to the time period suggested (16th to contemporary times) as evidenced by the frequency with which Classic plays from authors such as Euripides and Sophocles are cited; however, you have few works written in the last 100 years and only one (A Severe Mercy) written in the last 50 years.  

 

Edited by swimmermom3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Among local friends, several said their students did not do as well as they had hoped using just the Sonlight 630. They also commented about needing more variety of literature and more practice aligned with the types of writing the AP expects. I really don't know more than that. 

 

It's expensive, but we went with PA Homeschoolers. It was a splurge, but well worth it for my English major daughter. She enjoyed being a TA her senior year.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We used Sonlight Brit LIt for AP English Lit. I  never bothered to get anything classified as "AP". My kids would just use whatever curriculum we decided on and use a test prep book at the end. On their transcript, I just listed it as English. Many colleges asked for a breakdown on exactly what books we covered so it was clear it was a rigorous course.

 

It is not an issue that no American Lit is covered. The way you prepare for AP Lit is to select 2 or 3 pieces of literature you hope you can use. My daughter selected Hamlet, Emma and The Importance of Being Ernest. She felt those 3 were likely to cover any question she would get. The topic that year was something about talking about a character that was a foil so she used Laertes as Hamlet's foil.

 

She felt very well prepared and got a 5.

 

My kids all got 5s for AP Language as well and we did Sonlight every year in high school. They felt the Word Power Made Easy book was the best vocab book they had used (we  did lots of vocab!) 

 

I was an English major and did read almost all the books with them. I graded all their essays and they did everything Sonlight assigned. 

 

And they all still love reading and classics - which I consider an even bigger win than their AP scores.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We used Sonlight Brit LIt for AP English Lit. I  never bothered to get anything classified as "AP". My kids would just use whatever curriculum we decided on and use a test prep book at the end. On their transcript, I just listed it as English. Many colleges asked for a breakdown on exactly what books we covered so it was clear it was a rigorous course.

 

It is not an issue that no American Lit is covered. The way you prepare for AP Lit is to select 2 or 3 pieces of literature you hope you can use. My daughter selected Hamlet, Emma and The Importance of Being Ernest. She felt those 3 were likely to cover any question she would get. The topic that year was something about talking about a character that was a foil so she used Laertes as Hamlet's foil.

 

She felt very well prepared and got a 5.

 

My kids all got 5s for AP Language as well and we did Sonlight every year in high school. They felt the Word Power Made Easy book was the best vocab book they had used (we  did lots of vocab!) 

 

I was an English major and did read almost all the books with them. I graded all their essays and they did everything Sonlight assigned. 

 

And they all still love reading and classics - which I consider an even bigger win than their AP scores.

 

You are correct about the American lit, as long as  you, the teacher, are not submitting your syllabus for the College Board course audit.  Many brick and mortar schools have American Literature for 11th grade and British Literature for 12th grade.  The way to handle this on the course audit is to state exactly that and put the SC1 next to it on the audit. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...