AP Literature and Composition Reading and Writing Workshop
Short Fiction I: Characterization and Narrative Structure
Objective:
Students will analyze how authors develop characters and structure narratives in short fiction. Through collaborative analysis, close reading, and writing, they will craft AP-style Free Response Questions (FRQs) to deepen their literary analysis.
Texts (Public Domain Works)
Focus Concepts:
“When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’”
Discussion Questions:
Groups sketch the story’s structure as a visual arc and label how pacing heightens irony.
Session 2: Voice, Setting, and Psychological Depth
Focus Concepts:
“I’ve got out at last... in spite of you and Jane! And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!”
Group Task:
Compare Gilman’s first-person perspective to Chopin’s third-person limited voice.
Session 3: Manipulating Time and Perspective
Focus Concepts:
From Woolf:
“Death was the glass, death was between us; coming to the woman first, hundreds of years ago, leaving the house, sealing all the windows; the rooms were darkened.”
From Poe:
“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”
Discussion:
Groups compose a one-paragraph comparison of how Woolf and Poe use structure to convey emotion or mental instability.
Session 4: Writing the AP-Style FRQ
Mini-Lesson:
In many works of literature, a character’s perspective shapes the reader’s understanding of events. Choose a character from one of the short stories read in this unit. Write a well-organized essay analyzing how the author uses characterization and narrative structure to develop the character and contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Group Activity: “Thesis and Evidence Workshop”
Commentary
“Free, free, free!” (Chopin)
Reveals Mrs. Mallard’s internalized repression and her fleeting grasp of autonomy.
Session 5: Peer Review and Revision
Focus: Clarity, textual evidence, depth of analysis
Group Workshop: “Peer Editors’ Circle”
Group develops a checklist for revision based on common weaknesses.
Session 6: Timed FRQ and Reflection
Timed Writing Prompt:
Many authors use narrative structure to reveal the complexities of a character’s psychological state. Choose one short story from this unit and analyze how the structure enhances the reader’s understanding of the protagonist’s emotional condition.
Activity:
Each group creates a “Growth Timeline” of skills from Session 1 to Session 6:
Each group selects two stories (e.g., The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour) and writes a comparative analysis exploring how gender, social context, and narrative structure intersect to shape women’s interior lives in 19th-century fiction.
Possible Guiding Question:
How do Gilman and Chopin challenge traditional gender expectations through the inner voices of their female protagonists?
Objective:
Students will analyze how authors develop characters and structure narratives in short fiction. Through collaborative analysis, close reading, and writing, they will craft AP-style Free Response Questions (FRQs) to deepen their literary analysis.
Texts (Public Domain Works)
- “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1952 - “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/160 - “A Haunted House” by Virginia Woolf
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1542 - “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3090 - “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2148
Focus Concepts:
- Direct vs. Indirect Characterization
- Point of View and its impact on perception
- Elements of Narrative Structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
- Leader: Guides pacing and time
- Text Analyst: Identifies textual evidence
- Discussion Director: Poses interpretive questions
- Scribe: Records group insights
- Read “The Story of an Hour” aloud in groups.
- Highlight and annotate phrases that reveal Mrs. Mallard’s emotions.
“When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’”
Discussion Questions:
- What does the repetition of “free” reveal about her character?
- How does the story’s brevity contribute to its emotional impact?
Groups sketch the story’s structure as a visual arc and label how pacing heightens irony.
Session 2: Voice, Setting, and Psychological Depth
Focus Concepts:
- Character motivation and conflict
- Setting as mirror to character psychology
- Symbolism through imagery and tone
- Read “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
- Each group focuses on a stage of the narrator’s mental unraveling.
“I’ve got out at last... in spite of you and Jane! And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!”
Group Task:
- Create a 4-part “Mind Map” tracing the narrator’s descent from rationality to madness.
- Discuss how setting (the nursery, wallpaper, confinement) acts as a psychological symbol.
Compare Gilman’s first-person perspective to Chopin’s third-person limited voice.
Session 3: Manipulating Time and Perspective
Focus Concepts:
- Linear vs. Nonlinear structures
- Framed and fragmented narratives
- Unreliable narrators
- Read “A Haunted House” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
- Each group tracks time shifts and changes in perspective using a color-coded chart.
From Woolf:
“Death was the glass, death was between us; coming to the woman first, hundreds of years ago, leaving the house, sealing all the windows; the rooms were darkened.”
From Poe:
“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”
Discussion:
- How does Woolf’s fragmented style evoke memory?
- How does Poe’s repetition create a sense of obsession?
Groups compose a one-paragraph comparison of how Woolf and Poe use structure to convey emotion or mental instability.
Session 4: Writing the AP-Style FRQ
Mini-Lesson:
- Examine AP scoring guidelines and sample student essays.
- Model how to integrate evidence and commentary effectively.
In many works of literature, a character’s perspective shapes the reader’s understanding of events. Choose a character from one of the short stories read in this unit. Write a well-organized essay analyzing how the author uses characterization and narrative structure to develop the character and contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Group Activity: “Thesis and Evidence Workshop”
- Each group crafts a thesis using one of the short stories.
- Use a “Quote-to-Commentary” chart to balance textual evidence and analysis.
Commentary
“Free, free, free!” (Chopin)
Reveals Mrs. Mallard’s internalized repression and her fleeting grasp of autonomy.
Session 5: Peer Review and Revision
Focus: Clarity, textual evidence, depth of analysis
Group Workshop: “Peer Editors’ Circle”
- Each student exchanges essays within their group.
- Peers provide feedback using the AP Rubric focus areas: thesis, evidence, commentary, sophistication.
Group develops a checklist for revision based on common weaknesses.
Session 6: Timed FRQ and Reflection
Timed Writing Prompt:
Many authors use narrative structure to reveal the complexities of a character’s psychological state. Choose one short story from this unit and analyze how the structure enhances the reader’s understanding of the protagonist’s emotional condition.
Activity:
- 40-minute timed response (individual).
- Groups reconvene to discuss strategies for managing time and selecting evidence efficiently.
Each group creates a “Growth Timeline” of skills from Session 1 to Session 6:
- What improved most (analysis, writing, collaboration)?
- Which text best demonstrated complex characterization?
Each group selects two stories (e.g., The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour) and writes a comparative analysis exploring how gender, social context, and narrative structure intersect to shape women’s interior lives in 19th-century fiction.
Possible Guiding Question:
How do Gilman and Chopin challenge traditional gender expectations through the inner voices of their female protagonists?