Writing syllabus for AP Literature

[ALB]

I'm in the process of attempting this so I can submit my syllabus to the College Board and call my dd's class "AP" on her transcript.  My head is spinning, because while I am used to designing courses for our homeschool, I have never written this type of a syllabus.  How detailed does it need to be?  I printed off the sample from the CB website, so I do have that to go from.

Basically, I have a paragraph for a course overview, a paragraph about student assignments, and then her reading list.  After that, I've divided the year into 9 units (rotating poetry, short fiction, longer fiction, drama).  Under each unit I have copied the skill objectives from the CB course info, then listed the specific short stories/ poems/ etc. for that unit.  Then I have a section called "Assignments," where I have bullet points describing what chapters are read from Structure, Sound, and Sense and The Lively Art of Writing, then a bunch of written and oral discussion topics for that unit.  

What I don't have are specific due dates of anything, or super clear timelines of when the longer novels need to be read.  From the sample syllabus, it doesn't seem like I need those more technical details.  

How does that sound?  Am I going in the right direction?  (Please tell me that I am because I've already sunk a bunch of hours into this!)

[daijobu]

I think you are doing fine.  If you want to take the most expedient path to College Board approval, then you should adopt one of their sample syllabi.  (They provide you with around 3 samples, as you proceed through the College Board audit.)  Here are the guidelines for your use of an approved syllabus:

What does it mean to “adopt” the AP Unit Guides or a pre-approved syllabus? This simply means that the teacher has reviewed the material, is aware of the content and skills colleges expected to see in any course labeled “AP,” and will use the document as the starting point for their own course plan, adapting and modifying it over time as the teacher determines what will best enable his/her students to develop the knowledge and skills required for college credit and placement.

Note that you don't need to follow the syllabus to the letter.  You can modify and adapt it as you go along.  

If you are comfortable with that, then I recommend you submit a pre-approved syllabus because then your approval will be automatic, like you will be notified of approval within minutes.  If you create your own syllabus you will be waiting weeks or months for approval.  I made that mistake and was on edge for quite a while and kicking myself for not just choosing one of their syllabi.  

 

[ALB]

Wow!  Thanks for pointing me in this direction.  I submitted it and am waiting approval.  What a game changer this is!  I thought I had heard about this option months ago but couldn't find it anywhere on the College Board site so assumed it wasn't a valid option anymore.  

[daijobu]

 

10 hours ago, ALB said:

Wow!  Thanks for pointing me in this direction.  I submitted it and am waiting approval.  What a game changer this is!  I thought I had heard about this option months ago but couldn't find it anywhere on the College Board site so assumed it wasn't a valid option anymore.  

Were you approved?  How quickly?  (I want to make sure my advice is accurate.)  

[ALB]

I submitted on Sunday and was approved early Monday morning, so I assume that it might have been more immediate if I had submitted on a weekday.  Thanks again for this recommendation!  That saved me TONS of time.  

[daijobu]

I just thought of something else.  Besides being able to put "AP" on your transcript, being CB-approved means you have access to all their online resources, including their email list for teachers and their Question Bank and old exams.  

I personally did not find the email list to be very helpful, but I know others have.  I have tutored for AP calculus, and I found the Question Bank to be a really great resource for putting together worksheets with practice problems.  (You can filter for questions in one or more topics and create a custom worksheet and have your student complete it online or print it out as a PDF.)  I'm not sure how applicable it would for AP Lit or if it even exists for that subject, but it might be worth taking a look this summer as you prepare your class.