English with Mrs. Lamp

When I first started teaching AP® Literature (10+ years ago!), crafting a year-long syllabus felt pretty scary—I wanted to balance great texts with engaging activities AND ensure alignment with AP® exam expectations. I also wanted to make sure I had a good mix of poetry, short stories, novels, and dramas. After years of refining my approach, I’ve put together a few course scope & sequences, and I tend to mix things up depending on what my students seem to like & need each year.

If you need help planning, prepping, and timing everything right for an AP® Lit class, this is the post for you! (And I promise I’ll keep it short!)

Making a Course Guide

After 10 years teaching AP®, I created my 25-page AP® Literature Course Guide as both a map for myself and a way to help new teachers see what a full year could look like for them. The guide covers 11 units, each meticulously crafted to both align with the AP® “Big Ideas” AND foster a deep understanding of & appreciation for literature.

Here’s why you need a course guide, too!

1. Unit Breakdown and Activities: From exploring Dostoevsky’s psychological depths in Crime and Punishment to diving into the modernist themes of Hemingway and Eliot, my guide includes detailed breakdowns for each unit, including an overview of the topic, the works we’ll read, the skills-based activities we’ll do, and final essay prompts or assessment information. Whether we are delving into Romanticism with Wordsworth and Keats or analyzing the dystopian world of 1984, the guide reminds me which activities and texts worked in the past.
2. Diverse Literary Works: The guide provides a comprehensive list of classic texts—novels, plays, short stories, and poems—arranged by unit. This curated selection ensures students engage with a broad range of literary genres, authors, and historical periods, fostering a well-rounded appreciation of literature. Each unit is designed to highlight key themes and literary techniques, helping students draw connections between texts and contexts. A reading list is also helpful in case a new teacher ever steps into my role.
3. Practical Teaching Strategies: Beyond the texts, the guide includes actionable teaching strategies and essay prompts that align with AP® skills and exam requirements. For new teachers, a clear roadmap like this for lesson planning is a lifesaver! For seasoned educators, the guide will provide plenty of ideas and inspiration with fresh activities and prompts aligned with the latest AP® framework expectations!
4. Focus on Critical Skills: At its core, the guide emphasizes developing students’ analytical writing and critical thinking skills. With detailed descriptions of activities, essays, and assessments, it lays out a full-year curriculum that supports students in mastering the art of literary analysis and prepares them for the AP® Literature exam and beyond. Everything is aligned to the “Big Ideas,” which makes it easy to ensure I’m preparing my students for the exam in May.
5. Getting Your Course Approved: You will need to submit something like this online to be approved as an AP course at your school.

There’s a detailed framework I’m working from, but I also have the freedom and flexibility to change things depending on what my students need and what’s going on each year. Whether I’m introducing Shakespeare’s Hamlet or exploring contemporary voices like Sylvia Plath and Maya Angelou, the guide ensures that every unit is both enriching and manageable. I don’t always do every single activity, but all the ones I’ve used and liked before are right there for me to choose from as I work my way through each 3-6 week unit.

So, if you’re looking to streamline your AP® Literature curriculum and truly prepare your students, consider making your own “course guide,” or check out mine for some inspiration (or as a starting point if you’re a new AP® Lit teacher). It’s packed with resources and insights to make your teaching journey as fulfilling and effective as possible!

You Need a Syllabus

Everyone needs a syllabus! Here’s a simple, editable syllabus for an AP® Literature and Composition class that includes everything you want to cover in a concise, effective, and well-structured way. It even includes definitions and consequences for academic dishonesty. It’s great for new teachers or those who wish to update their syllabi.

Main sections:

• Contact Information
• Course Description
• Materials
• Objectives
• Topics of Study
• Grading
• Extra Credit
• Communication
• Absences
• Participation
• Late Work
• Retake Policies
• Classroom Rules
• Plagiarism and Cheating

My AP Lit Syllabus

What’s in My Course Guide

My AP® Lit curriculum offers a rigorous exploration of literature that spans diverse genres, periods, and critical approaches. I want to help students develop high-level analytical and writing skills. Central to this curriculum is the engagement with seminal works such as Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, George Orwell’s 1984, and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, among others. Through these texts, students navigate complex themes of morality, society, identity, and the human condition while honing their capacities for literary analysis and argumentation.

At the heart of the course is an emphasis on close reading and critical thinking. For instance, Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment immerses students in the psychological struggles of Raskolnikov, compelling them to confront profound questions of guilt, redemption, and moral philosophy. As students dissect the intricate character development and symbolism in Dostoevsky’s narrative, they are encouraged to consider the societal implications of poverty and the role of religion in shaping individual morality. A notable exercise encourages students to employ graphic organizers to compare key characters and their motivations, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding of the text’s broader themes of schism and redemption.

The exploration of Orwell’s 1984 introduces students to the motifs of totalitarianism, privacy, and the manipulation of truth—issues that resonate powerfully in contemporary discourse. In analyzing Orwell’s narrative techniques, including his use of Newspeak, students reflect on the implications for individual thought and expression. The class encourages a variety of activities—from debates on the text’s themes to character analyses—that promote active engagement and dynamic discussion around the novel’s relevance, considering its prophetic insights in the age of digital surveillance.

Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye presents an intimate portrayal of adolescence that challenges students to grapple with themes of alienation and identity. Holden Caulfield’s unreliable narration prompts careful examination of his perspectives on adulthood, societal expectations, and personal struggles. Students engage in character studies and group discussions as our classroom space facilitates critical discourse on how Salinger’s language and text structure contribute to the novel’s iconic status in American literature.

We also have full-length units on Huck Finn, Heart of Darkness, Hamlet, and a Choice Novel.

Beyond individual texts, the curriculum also covers broader literary movements and their historical contexts. The unit on Romanticism dives into the emotional and imaginative expressions of poets like Wordsworth and Keats, while the Modernism unit invites students to analyze the fragmented narrative styles of authors such as Hemingway and Woolf. By integrating study guides and analytical essays, the course empowers students to articulate their interpretations clearly and methodically. The course also includes a unit on Victorian poetry and a unit on Renaissance poetry!

My course guide also emphasizes the importance of textual evidence in literary argumentation. For instance, students writing essays on Crime and Punishment or Heart of Darkness must formulate clear arguments supported by textual references, thereby reinforcing their analytical skills. Through both formal essays and timed-writing exercises, students learn to construct coherent and persuasive arguments—a skill that extends far beyond the classroom.

As students reflect on the relevance of these texts to contemporary issues, I like to emphasize how the narratives and poems we explore are not merely historical artifacts, but also keys that open doors to thought and discussion that mirror today’s challenges regarding such topics as morality, authority, identity, and more. Amidst ongoing current cultural and political conversations about surveillance, social justice, and mental health, the themes from these literary works always manage to resonate with current societal dynamics, encouraging my students to draw connections that deepen their understanding of both literature and the world around them!

I like to think that my AP® Literature and Composition curriculum serves not only as an academic framework but as a catalyst for academic, personal, and intellectual growth. Teaching ELA or English Literature and Composition is an opportunity to help our students grow not only as schlars, but also as human beings. I remember a teacher of mine wrote that in his syllabus, and it always stuck with me.

Through the study of literature that probes into the complexities of humanity, students shoule leave your AP Lit class with a heightened awareness of the moral, social, and existential questions that shape human experience. A course like that, one that you’ve planned and prepped and sweated over, well… it not only prepares students for the AP® exam but it should instil within them a lifelong appreciation for literature and its capacity to illuminate the intricacies of life! When it works, you’ll know it. The skills developed throughout my AP Lit course, from critical thinking, to effective communication, to empathetic understanding, and beyond… these are invaluable tools for our kids as they navigate an increasingly complex world!

Full Unit List

Units Covered in My AP® Literature Course Guide

• Crime and Punishment
  • A deep dive into Dostoevsky’s psychological masterpiece, exploring themes of guilt, morality, and redemption.

• Romanticism
  • Analysis of Romantic literature, including works by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, delving into nature, love, and the sublime.

• 1984
  • Students will delve into George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984, exploring its deeply political thematic claims and its enduring relevance in contemporary society.
• Modernism
  • Examination of modernist texts such as Hemingway’s “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” and Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” exploring disillusionment, identity, and societal change.

• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  • Analysis of Mark Twain’s classic novel, supplemented by historical and critical readings, addressing themes of race, freedom, and morality.

• The Catcher in the Rye
  • Exploration of J.D. Salinger’s iconic novel, examining themes of alienation, adolescence, and societal expectations.

• Victorian Poetry
  • Study of Victorian poets like Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, and Hardy, focusing on themes of love, loss, and existential reflection.
• Heart of Darkness
  • Analysis of Conrad’s novella, including critical perspectives by Attell, Achebe, and others, exploring imperialism, morality, and identity.

• Renaissance Poetry
  • Study of Renaissance poets such as Shakespeare, Donne, Spenser, and Marlowe, exploring themes of love, mortality, and metaphysical exploration.

• Hamlet
  • In-depth analysis of Shakespeare’s tragedy, focusing on themes of revenge, madness, and morality.

• Contemporary Poetry
  • Exploration of modern voices in poetry, addressing contemporary issues through poetry and prose.
• Choice Novel
  • I also often do a choice novel unit, which isn’t in the “Course Guide,” but is something I usually do after the exam is over in May.

Each unit includes

✏️Detailed breakdowns of literary works by genre and period

✏️Actionable teaching activities aligned with AP® skill areas & the “Big Ideas”

✏️Suggestions for assessment

✏️Timed and typed essay prompts or poetry explications to enhance analytical writing skills

Grab the guide here! My AP® Literature Course Guide