Department: English
Course: American Literature
Grade Level: 11
Credits: 1
Instructor: Andrew Gallagher
Course Description
American Literature & Composition 300 will seek to address the following questions, “Who are we as a people?” and “What does it
mean to be American?” The course will examine our national identity, beliefs, values, myths, struggles, and triumphs. Writing
projects will emphasize persuasive writing and literary analysis, and will include a literature-based research paper.
Contents in Brief
Unit 1: Introduction to Central Themes in American Literature
Unit 2: Puritanism and the First European Settlers
Unit 3: Immigration and Muckraking
Unit 4: Gender Issues
Unit 5: Poetry and Prosody
Unit 6: The Multicultural Experience
Unit 7: Multicultural Experience/ACT preparation
Unit 8: Independent Novel Project
Big Ideas:
Duration
3 weeks
6 weeks
6 weeks
5 weeks
5 weeks
5 weeks
4 weeks
6 weeks
1. To enable students to independently analyze poems, short stories, drama, novels, and nonfiction.
2. To provide students with reading and writing strategies for analyzing verse and prose passages.
3. To develop and use advanced writing skills for various types of literary analysis.
4. To read for knowledge, self- improvement, and enjoyment.
5. To discover writers’ themes and purposes by surveying various genres.
6. To connect different writers’ themes with other literature and with our own lives.
7. To view writing as a means for discovering truth and for conveying that truth to others.
Course Scope and Sequence
Time Frame
Unit
SEMESTER 1
3 Weeks
Unit 1: Introduction to Central Themes in American
Literature
6 Weeks
Unit 2: Puritanism and the First European Settlers
6 Weeks
Unit 3: Immigration and Muckraking
5 Weeks
Unit 4: Gender Issues
Semester 2
5 Weeks
Unit 5: Poetry and Prosody
Topic(s)
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Poetry: Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes
Prose: “The Crisis” Thomas Paine
Writing/Grammar/ACT diagnostic
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,”
Jonathan Edwards
Literary analysis: The Crucible
Theme Analysis Essay: The Crucible
Grammar: Subject/Verb Agreement
Vocabulary Exercises
Literary Analysis: The Jungle
Paraphrasing
Author’s Purpose
Tone
Theme
Grammar: Comma/Semicolon Usage
Vocabulary Exercises
Literary Analysis: The Awakening
Tone
Theme
Character Analysis Essay: The Awakening
Grammar: Parallelism
Vocabulary Exercises
1.
2.
Poetry: Glencoe Textbook
Literary devices
5 Weeks
Unit 6: The Multicultural Experience
4 Weeks
Unit 7: The Multicultural Experience/ACT preparation
6 Weeks
Unit 8: Independent Novel Project
Common Core State Standards
Reading Standards for Literary and Informational Text
 Close reading
 Make inferences
 Cite text
 Summarization
 Determining theme
 Text analysis
 Analyzing language and tone
 Analyzing text structure
 Analyzing point of view
 Evaluating multiple genres
 Analyzing argument
 Compare and contrast text
 Working independently
Writing Standards
 Writing arguments using valid reasoning/sufficient
evidence
 Writing informative/explanatory texts
 Writing narratives
 Produce clear, coherent writing appropriate for
audience
 Using the writing process
 Publishing writing using the internet and technology
 Conduct short and longer research projects
 Gather information from a variety of sources
3. Close reading
4. Form and Function
5. Poetry Explication Portfolio
1. Novel: Picture Bride
2. Theme
3. Tone
4. Author’s purpose
5. Close reading
6. Research Essay: Picture Bride
7. Grammar: Dependent and Independent
Clauses
8. Vocabulary Exercises
1. Short Fiction: Glencoe Textbook
2. Close reading
3. Author’s Purpose
4. Tone
5. Theme
6. Grammar Review and Test-taking Strategies
7. Vocabulary Exercises
1. Selected Novel
2. Close Reading
3. Research Essay
4. Oral Presentation
5. Socratic Seminars
Writing Standards Continued
Assess source integrity
Avoiding plagiarism
Draw evidence from multiple sources
Write routinely over different time frames for a wide
range of
audiences and purposes
Speaking and Listening Standards
 Participate in a wide range of conversations
 Expressing ideas clearly and persuasively
 Integrate and evaluate information presented in
diverse formats
 Evaluate speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and
language
 Presenting information effectively
 Integrating technology
 Adapting to a variety of contexts
Language Standards
 Demonstrate command of the English Language
(grammar and usage)
 Demonstrate command of the English Language
(capitalization, Punctuation, Spelling)
 Make effective language choices
 Define words with multiple meanings
 Understand word relationships
 Use academically appropriate words
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