Welcome to American Lit! 
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Syllabus:
ATTENTION: ALL in-class essays or tests must be made up by FRIDAY, 3/30; otherwise NO CREDIT will be granted
ALL MAKE UP work is due FRIDAY, 4/13 - No Exceptions.
Welcome to the 2011/2012 school year in American Literature!
This year, you will be transported not to other countries, but to cultures, heritages and time periods within our very own nation! The literature of the United States is unlike any other: it offers a rich tapestry of expression as unique as the very land and people it celebrates. From the early writings of the Puritans who settled here nearly 400 years ago, to the Jazz Age novelists who witnessed the modern era and the effect it had on our national identity, we will explore the vast and diverse history of America, as comunicated by the hearts and minds of its very own citizens.
We will begin with poetry from the Puritan era, followed by Arthur Miller's sobering play about the Salem witch trials, The Crucible. Next, we'll read Nathaniel Hawthorne's timeless tale of sin and redemption, The Scarlet Letter. Moving from Romaticism to Realism, we'll look at Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and then explore the writings of American Transcendentalism. Ending with the twentieth centrury, we'll conclude our journey with the Jazz-Age classic The Great Gatsby and Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Each of these seminal works represents a unique and vital form of literary expression, created by a great mind whose purpose was to engage, enlighten and entertain thirsty readers. In other words, you... the students of today, the visionaries of
tomorrow.
So let's begin this fantasic trip - here's to a great year!
If you have any questions regarding your grades, the readings, or your writing, PLEASE arrange a time to meet with me outside of class to discuss. I am available during:
2nd Period
Break
6th Period
7th Period (in cafeteria)
After school
Assignment key: [w] writing - 60%
[h] homework/classwork/quizzes - 15%
[p] overall writing progress, participation - 25%
Schedule - 2011 - 2012
Friday 5/18: Film: "Finding Salinger"
Thursday 5/17: Film: "Finding Salinger"
Wednesday 5/16: Catcher in the Rye: Chapters 1 through 7 - discussion
Tuesday 5/15: Catcher in the Rye: Chapters 1 through 7 - discussion
Monday 5/14: Catcher in the Rye: Chapters 1 through 7
Friday 5/11: Catcher in the Rye - first paragraph
Thursday 5/10: J.D. Salinger
Due: Huck Finn packet
Wednesday 5/9: J.D. Salinger
Due: Huck Finn essay
Tuesday 5/8: Huck Finn test
Monday 5/7: Huck Finn test review
Friday 5/4: Conclusion; legacy, controversy
Thursday 5/3: Phelps Farm
Wednesday 5/2: Huck Finn timeline
Tuesday 5/1: The Wilks Family
Monday 4/30: Boggs and Colonel Sherburn; The Royal Nunesuch; Jim's Confession
Friday 4/27: Boggs and Colonel Sherburn
Thursday 4/26: The Duke and the King
Tuesday 4/24: The Grangerfords and Shepherdsons
Monday 4/23: Pap Finn
Friday 4/20: Satire in Huckleberry Finn
Thursday 4/19: Irony in Huckleberry Finn
Wednesday 4/18: Huck Finn quiz #2
Tuesday 4/17: Poetry Festival (in PAC)
Monday 4/16: Key topics in first 6 chapters of Huckleberry Finn; Nature Journals returned
Friday 4/13: In-Class Esssay: participation/progress for the third quarter
Thursday 4/12: Huck Finn: Huck vs. Tom
Due: Huck Finn study guide chapters 1 - 8
Wednesday 4/11: Essays returned, Huck Finn quiz #1
Tuesday 4/10: Huck Finn: Notice/Explanatory; first page
Friday 3/30: Mark Twain
Thursday 3/29: Mark Twain
Wednesday 3/28: Transcendentalism: Review, quiz: Whitman
Due: Thoreau Essay
Due: Whitman study guide
Tuesday 3/27: Whitman: "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" and "A Noiseless Patient Spider"
Monday 3/26: Whitman: "I Hear America Singing"
Due: Nature Journal
Friday 3/23: Whitman, "Song of Myself"
Assigned: Read Whitman, complete study guide for Wed 3/28
Wednesday 3/21: Conclusion, Walden, quiz: Emerson/Thoreau
Tuesday 3/20: Video: "Thoreau's Walden"
Monday 3/19: Persuasive essays: the counter-argument
Due: Thoreau's "Walden" study guide
Friday 3/16: Emerson: "The Snowstorm"
Thursday 3/15: Examples of transcendentalism in major works handout
Assigned: read Thoreau's "Walden," study guide (for Mon 3/19)
NOTE TO ALL STUDENTS: I am out today for a workshop. The sub will give you your homework, which is due Monday. Please complete classwork by the time the period ends - the sub will collect.
Wednesday 3/14: Emerson: "Self Reliance"; handout
Tuesday 3/13: Emerson quotes: Blog assignment (go to class blog site above for instructions)
Monday 3/12: Emerson: "Nature"
Due: Emerson study guide
Friday 3/9: Nature journals, intro to Emerson
Assigned: read Emerson texts, study guide (for Mon 3/12)
Monday 3/5/12: HSPA: Reading comprehension
Friday 3/2/12: HSPA persuasive in-class essay #2
Thursday 3/1/12: Reading comprehension practice; expository essay self review, grades returned
Due: Gatsby packet
Wednesday 2/29/12: Expository essay peer review
Tuesday 2/28/12: Great Gatsby test
Due: Great Gatsby essay
Monday 2/27/12: Great Gatsby test review
Friday 2/24/12: In-class essay: Expository #2
Thursday 2/23/12: HSPA persuasive self-review, grades received
All Gatsby quizzes returned - TEST TUESDAY, 2/28
Wednesday 2/22/12: HSPA persuasive peer review
Tuesday 2/21/12: Practice grading HSPA persuasive
Thursday 2/16/12: HSPA persuasive in-class essay
Wednesday 2/15/12: HSPA Prep: the persuasive essay
Tuesday 2/14/12: Guidance to pick classes for next year
Monday 2/13/12: GG quiz #5; HSPA expository in-class essays returned, reviewed
Friday 2/10/12: HSPA expository in-class essay
Wednesday 2/8/12: GG quiz #4
Tuesday 2/7/12: Gatsby party scenes: comparing and contrasting movie versions
Due: Gatsby scene picture
NOTE: I am out today; the sub will give you the above classwork, and the homework below.
Thursday 2/2/12: GG quiz #3; HSPA Prep: The expository essay
Due: Great Gatsby Chaps 5 and 6 study guide and vocab
Wednesday 2/1/12: Work returned, class participation survey
Assigned: Gatsby scene picture [2h] (due Tues 2/7) REMINDER- paper for this assignment is located on the front file cabinet in room 165
Wednesday 1/25/12: Exam prewrite: Bring all materials you will need for the prewrite (notes, returned assignments, tests, quizzes, books, etc.)
Tuesday 1/24/12: Great Gatsby, Chapter 4; GG quiz #2
Due: Great Gatsby Chaps 3 and 4 study guide and vocab
Friday 1/20/12: Analysis of characters from The Great Gatsby (Chaps 1 and 2)
Due: SL Explication Essay
Thursday 1/19/12: Analysis of characters from The Great Gatsby (Chaps 1 and 2); GG quiz #1
Wednesday 1/18/12: Intro: F. Scott Fitzgerald, first line of book
Tuesday 1/17/12: Review: explication essay; model
Intro: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Due: GG character chart, vocab #1
Thursday 1/12/12: Scarlet Letter test [w]
Due: Scarlet Letter packet
Assigned: SL Explication Essay [w] (NEW DUE DATE: due Fri 1/20)
Wednesday 1/11/12: Scarlet Letter test review
Tuesday 1/10/12: "Conclusion"
Due: SL Explication Essay prewrite
Monday 1/9/12: "The Minister in a Maze," "The New England Holiday," "The Procession" and "The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter"
Friday 1/6/12: Quiz; "A Flood of Sunshine" and "The Child at the Brookside"
Assigned: SL Explication Essay prewrite (due Tues 1/10)
Thursday 1/5/12: "The Pastor and His Parishoner"
Wednesday 1/4/12: "A Forest Walk"; Quiz
Due: "Individual Vs. Sin" Essay
Tuesday 1/3/12: "Another View of Hester"
Friday: Merry Christmas!
Thursday 12/22/11: "The Leech" and "The Leech and His Patient"
Due: Chapters 11 - 19 study gude and vocab
Wednesday 12/21/11: "The Elf-Child and the Minister"
Tuesday 12/20/11: Quiz; "The Governor's Hall"
Monday 12/19/11: "Pearl"
Due: "The Individual Vs. Sin" prewrite
Friday 12/16/11: TSL: "Hester at Her Needle" and "Pearl" Handout
Thursday 12/15/11: TSL: "Hester at Her Needle" explication
Wednesday 12/14/11: Quiz; TSL passage presentations, part 2
Due: Chapters 4-6 study guide and vocab
Tuesday 12/13/11: TSL passage presentations, part 1
Monday 12/12/11: The Scarlet Letter: The first 4 chapters - "The Individual Vs. Society"
Friday 12/9/11: "The Interview"
Thursday 12/8/11: "The Recognition"
Assigned: "The Recognition" packet
Due: "The Prison Door" picture and handout
Wednesday 12/7/11: Quiz; "The Market Place" - Hester's walk to the scaffold
Due: Study guide chapters 1 - 3, vocab
Tuesday 12/6/11: "The Market Place" - description of Hester
Monday 12/5/11: "The Prison Door" and "The Market Place"
Assigned: "The Prison Door" picture/handout (due Thurs 12/8/11) [2h]
Friday 12/2/11: "The Prison Door" - first sentence
Thursday 12/1/11: Quiz; "The Custom House" themes and topics
Due: "Custom House" study guide
Tuesday 11/29/11: "The Custom House" first 3 paragraphs
Monday 11/28/11: "The Custom House" group work
Tuesday 11/22/11: The Crucible test
Due: Crucible packet
Monday 11/21/11: The Crucible test review
Friday 11/18/11: The Crucible blog assignment
Thursday 11/17/11: The Crucible blog assignment (due Fri 11/18 11 PM)
Wednesday 11/16/11: The Crucible, Act IV acted out
Due: Crucible Persuasive Essay
Tuesday 11/15/11: The Crucible, Act IV acted out
Monday 11/14/11: SR Essay Revisions returned; Act IV quiz [h]
Wednesday 11/9/11: The Crucible Act III (pgs. 100 - 120) acted out.
Due: Crucible Act IV study guide
Tuesday 11/8/11: The Crucible Act III (pgs. 83 - 100) acted out.
Monday 11/7/11: Explication of passages from Acts I, II (group work); Act III quiz [h]
Friday 11/4/11: The Crucible Act II (pgs. 79 - 81) acted out; explication of passages from Acts I, II (group work)
Due: Crucible study guide, Act III
Thursday 11/3/11: The Crucible Act II (pgs. 63 - 79) acted out
Wednesday 11/2/11: The Crucible Act II (pgs. 49 - 62) acted out
Due: Crucible study guide, Act II
Tuesday 11/1/11: The Crucible Act I - Explication; Act II quiz [h]
Monday 10/31/11: The Crucible Act I (pgs. 36 - 48) acted out
Due: "Monsters" one-pagraph writing assignment
Friday 10/28/11: The Crucible Act I (pgs. 21 - 32) acted out
Due: Reading of Act I, study guide
Wednesday 10/26/11: The Crucible, Act I (pgs.8 - 20)
Monday 10/24/11: "Monsters" one-paragraph thesis statements: live-blogging
Assigned: Read The Crucible to page 19 (photocopied packet) (due Tues 10/25)
Wednesday 10/19/11: "Young Goodman Brown" in-class, single paragraph writing assignment.
Tuesday 10/18/11: "Young Goodman Brown" In-class paragraph prewrite
Due: Summer Reading Revisions
Friday 10/14/11: "Young Goodman Brown" classwork: questions (finish from Thursday)
NOTE TO ALL STUDENTS: I am out today. You will finish up yesterday's questions, and then the sub has a brief writing activity for you. All "English in the News" presenters will go on Monday 10/17, at which time your Summer Reading revisions are also due.
Due: "Sinners" picture assignment
Due: Reading of "Young Goodman Brown"
Thursday 10/6/11: Final in-class day from Summer Reading revision
Wednesday 10/5/11: Peer review for Summer Reading.
Tuesday 10/4/11: Thesis statements: live blogging
Due: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and questions (due Tues 10/4)
Monday 10/3/11: Grammar, mechanics review for Summer Reading
Friday 9/30/11: Summer Reading Essays returned, reviewed
Thursday 9/29/11: No school
Wednesday 9/28/11: Edward Taylor background
Tuesday 9/27/11: Blog responses returned, reviewed; new post; "Huswifery"
Friday 9/23/11: "To My Dear and Loving Husband" and "Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666": questions and analysis
Thursday 9/22/11: Quiz, Anne Bradstreet overview, "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
Wednesday 9/21/11: Puritan Virtues (in your own words); "Would the Puritans Approve?"
Monday 9/19/11: Review: "What Is America?"; intro: The Puritan Ideal
Due: "The Story of the Times" packet and questions
Friday 9/16/11: Summer reading essay
All blog responses due at midnight
Thursday 9/15/11: Summer reading prep
Wednesday 9/14/11: Writing folders started; summer reading prep
Assigned: "The Story of the Times" packet and questions, due Mon 9/19
Tuesday 9/13/11: Blog setup
Due: Summarize, reflect on "The Future of the American Idea" in notebooks
Friday 9/9/11: Syllabus distribution; discussion: "What is America?"
Due: "Great Expectations"
Thursday 9/8/11: Icebreaker
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