American Literature:
Semester Course
Units of Study
Beginnings of
American Literature
Focus: The American Voice
Proposed
Time
Content Suggestions
How The World Was Made
Unit Objectives
Learner Skills and 21st
Century Learner
Objectives
Common Core
Formal Writing
Assignments
Sample
Assessments &
Project-Based
Learning
State Standards
S1B3I1
determines meaning of words
using context
Determines meaning of works
through structural analysis
S1B3I4 identifies, interprets, and analyzes
Oral Tradition of American Literature among Indigenous
Peoples of America
S1B3I3
Navajo Origin Legend
The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations
Oral Tradition of Literature among Indigenous people
--La Relacion
Clash of Culture in North America
--The General History of Virginia
Colonial Expansion - pt of view
Research paper - Origins of
Literature among Indigenous
Americans
S1B4I2
The Age of Reason
--Of Plymouth Plantation
Puritan Voice- Tone and Purpose in Literature
--Upon The Burning of Our House
Puritan Voice- Tone and Purpose in Literature
--Huswifery
Puritan Voice- Tone and Purpose in Literature
--Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
--The History of the Dividing Line
The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano
Puritan Voice- Tone and Purpose in Literature
Foundations of Southern society
Slave Narrative
from"The Autobiography"
"Speech in the Virginia Convention"
from "The Crisis"
"The Declaration of Independence"
from "Letters from an American Farmer"
Characteristics of Rationalism
Aphoristic Style
Persuasive Appeal-Rhetoric; Audience Tone Purpose
Parallel Structure
Allusions
Introduction and from "The Devil and Tom Walker"
"Thanatopsis"
* "The Fall of the House of Usher"
Poe Discussion
Comparison/Contrast Analysis
over Puritans and Planters
- characterized by a heightened interest in nature
- departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism
- and rebellion against established social rules and conventions
Essay addressing the elements
of Romanticism and
Transcendentalism in Modern
Cinema
Transcendentalism
Introduction & "Selections from Emerson's Essays"
from "Walden"
from"The Journal"
"Dr. Heideggers Experiment"
"The Ministers Black Veil"
* From"Moby-Dick"
* Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell
* Dickinson
Naturalism
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Realism
Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
* identify elements of transcendentalism such as the
connection between people and nature, an individual's ability to
think freely, and the importance of spiritual self-reliance to the
individual found in the works of Emerson and Thoreau.
* identify the elements of transcendentalism as represented in
present-day genres (comic strips, lyrics, and music).
* investigate the representation of transcendentalist thought in
social commentaries.
* develop their own views on the subjects of individualism,
nature, and passive resistance.
* Objectivity -- even though occasionally human beings are
seen as the victims of destiny or fate
* Frankness -- frank in the portrayal of human beings as
animals driven by fundamental urges* Amoral attitude toward material-- an amoral view of the
struggle in which animals find themselves, neither condemning
nor praising human beings for actions beyond their control
* Philosophy of determinism -- Naturalistic works tend to
emphasize either a biological or a socioeconomic determinism.
* Bias toward pessimism in selection of details --
Elements of
Rhetorical Analysis;
Logos, Ethos,
Pathos
Audience, Tone,
Purpose
Daily class notes,
annotations, and
summaries
Quizzes to check for
understanding &
reading completion
Socratic Seminars
Test and/or Project
S1B4I14
Identifies author's position in
persuasive test
S1B4I15
Distinguishes between fact and
opinion
S2B1I1
Types of Characters
S2B1I2 Historical/Cultural/Social Aspects
S2B1I3
Analyzes and evaluates how
author uses plot elements
Novel
Analysis of Figurative Language
of Phillis Wheatley
OR
Analysis of Patriotic Rhetoric
"To His Excellency General Washington"
Romanticism
\
understands the purpose of text
features
S1B4I5
Inferences and Conclusions
S1B4I6
Author's Use of Text Structure
S1B4I7
Compares & Contrasts
S1B4I8
Cause and Effect
S1B4I9
Paraphrasing & Organization
S1B4I10 Identifies Topic/Main Idea/Details
& Theme
S1B4I11
Analyzes Author's Style
Transcedentalism MASHUP
In class timed essay response
to writing prompt
S2B1I4
Theme, Tone, Point of View
S2B1I5
Literary Devices
S2B2I1
Themes from Diverse Cultures
S2B2I2 Compares & Contrasts Literatures
S2B2I3
Shared Characteristics of
Cultures
American Literature:
Semester Course
Units of Study
Focus: The American Voice
Proposed
Time
Content Suggestions
Modernism
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
Final
Comprehensive open note final Exam
Unit Objectives
* Bias in selection of characters which are usually of three
types: (a) characters marked by strong physiques and small
intellectual activity; (b) characters of excited neurotic
temperament, at the mercy of moods, driven by forces that
they do not stop to analyze; (c) an occasional use of a strong
character whose will is broken
* Characters are subject to certain temptations
* Complexity and American Determinism: Complexity springs
from (a) machine industrialism; (b) the great city; (c)
centralization of wealth; (d) mechanistic psychology.
Learner Skills and 21st
Century Learner
Objectives
Common Core
Formal Writing
Assignments
Synthesis Essay addressing the
transformation of American
Literary Heritage
Sample
Assessments &
Project-Based
Learning
State Standards