📖COURSE DESCRIPTION
This 10th/11th-grade American Literature course is an immersive and engaging exploration of the United States' vast literary heritage. Designed to spark students' curiosity and ignite their creativity, this course goes beyond traditional analysis to make American literature a fun and transformative experience. Through a combination of interactive activities, creative projects, and collaborative discussions, students will develop a deep appreciation for American literature while honing their critical thinking, analytical skills, and imaginative expression.

In this course, students will embark on a literary adventure through the works of renowned American authors, spanning different time periods, genres, and cultural perspectives. By delving into a rich tapestry of texts, students will not only gain a comprehensive understanding of American literature but also uncover their own unique voices as budding writers.

The course encourages students to approach American literature with an open and imaginative mindset. Through dynamic classroom discussions, literary games, and role-playing activities, students will actively explore the themes, characters, and settings of each literary work. They will have the opportunity to engage in creative writing exercises, where they can experiment with different literary styles and techniques, fostering their own creativity as they explore their unique perspectives on the American experience.

Additionally, the course incorporates multimedia resources, such as audio recordings and visual representations, to enhance students' comprehension and immerse them in the world of American literature. Through these multimedia elements, students will be able to connect with the texts on a deeper emotional level, expanding their understanding of the cultural and historical contexts in which the works were created.

The course aims to create a supportive and inclusive environment that values students' diverse backgrounds and perspectives. By incorporating texts from marginalized and underrepresented voices in American literature, students will gain a broader understanding of the nation's literary landscape and contribute to meaningful discussions on social justice, equality, and the power of storytelling.

Through project-based assessments, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the literature by creating their own artistic interpretations, such as dramatic performances, multimedia presentations, or even original short stories inspired by the works studied. These projects encourage students to think critically, embrace their creativity, and express their ideas in innovative and engaging ways.

By the end of the course, students will not only have a comprehensive understanding of American literature but will have developed a deep appreciation for the power of storytelling, their own creative abilities, and their capacity to connect literature to their own lives. The course seeks to foster a lifelong love for literature and empower students to become active participants in the ongoing narrative of American culture and identity.

✏️ESSAYS
For those looking to add more writing assignments to their studies, there will be four major writing assignments for this particular class: a personal narrative (weeks 1-4), a persuasive essay (weeks 5-8), a literary analysis essay (weeks 9-12), and a poetry analysis essay (weeks 13-16). These will be written using the writing process and will receive feedback from me for both the rough and final drafts. 

📋COURSE OUTLINE
WEEK 1 - Start Unit 1: Early American Literature
Day 1 - Intro to American Literature activities 
Day 2 - Intro to American Literature activities (continued) + oral tradition lesson

WEEK 2 - Native American Oral Tradition
Day 1 - “The World on the Turtle’s Back,” Iroquois: discussion & analysis + podcast clip from All My Relations episode “Telling True Stories in a Good Way” + oral tradition podcast assignment explanation
Day 2 - Creation story comparison station activity + work on oral tradition podcast assignment (if time permits)

WEEK 3 - Colonial Literature
Day 1 - from Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford: group & whole-class discussion & analysis
Day 2 - Gallery walk activity + slave narratives lesson

WEEK 4 - Slave Narratives
Day 1  - from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano: group discussion & analysis + visual representation activity (of a key scene or theme from the excerpt)
Day 2 - Slavery & slave narrative activity + Puritan tradition activity with “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards

WEEK 5 - Puritan Tradition + American Drama
Day 1  - The Crucible, Arthur Miller: Act 1 group reading and analysis + character analysis
Day 2 - The Crucible, Arthur Miller: Act 2 discussion & analysis + character relationship group activity + creative writing activity (diary entry or letter)

WEEK 6 - Puritan Tradition + American Drama
Day 1  - The Crucible, Arthur Miller: Acts 3 & 4 discussion & analysis + prep for mock trial activity (if the class is not large enough, day 1 will comprise of role-play activity & character analysis instead for Act 3)
Day 2 - Mock trial (if the class is not large enough, day 2 will comprise of small group & whole-class discussions of Act 4, as well as a creative expression activity)

WEEK 7 - Writers of the Revolution
Day 1  - “Letter to the Reverend Samson Occom,” Phyllis Wheatley & “Letter to John Adams,” Abigail Adams: discussion & analysis
Day 2 - Finish up yesterday’s discussions & analysis + contemporary conversations activity (text conversation simulation)

WEEK 8 - Writers of the Revolution
Day 1  - from “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!”, Patrick Henry: discussion & pairing with Chief Tecumseh’s “Speech to the Osages” + create a TikTok “stitch” to Patrick Henry (students will not actually use TikTok; they will just record videos using their phones or other devices)
Day 2 -  from The Crisis, Thomas Paine: discussion + fictional #liberty X (formerly Twitter) trend (simulation activity - will not actually use X)

***FALL BREAK BETWEEN WEEKS 8 & 9 - NO CLASS MEETINGS***

WEEK 9 - Start Unit 2: American Renaissance | Early Romantics
Day 1  - Intro to the American Renaissance & Early Romantics (stations activity) + read and discuss “Thanatopsis,” William Cullen Bryant + digital collage
Day 2 - Group poetry analysis of “Thanatopsis” + romantic poem writing activity (bring a picture that you’ve personally taken of something in nature to class)

WEEK 10 - American Gothic
Day 1  - “The Masque of the Red Death,” Edgar Allan Poe: discussion & analysis + student choice activity (write a short story or symbolic art creation to demonstrate dark romantic themes and symbols)
Day 2 - “The Raven,” Edgar Allan Poe: discussion & analysis + poetry slam group activity (dramatic readings of sections of the poem)

WEEK 11 - Transcendentalists
Day 1  - “How Transcendentalist Are You?” Quiz + from Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson discussion & analysis + virtual nature walk
Day 2 - from Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson: discussion & analysis + Transcendental Manifest group activity 

WEEK 12 - Transcendentalists
Day 1  - from Woman in the Nineteenth Century, Margaret Fuller: Socratic Seminar
Day 2 - Role play and debate activity related to Woman in the Nineteenth Century 

WEEK 13 - Transcendentalists
Day 1  - from Walden, Henry David Thoreau: group and whole-class discussions & analysis + virtual Walden field trip
Day 2 - Thoreau-inspired journaling activity 

WEEK 14 - Slavery & Race
Day 1  - from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass: discussion & analysis + gallery walk (each slide of the walk will represent a different theme or concept related to slavery and freedom [e.g., "Resistance," "Family," "Education," "Dehumanization," "Escape"]).
Day 2 - “Eliza Harris” & “The Slave Mother,” Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: read & discuss in groups, create artistic representations of the themes of strength, resilience, and the human spirit inspired by the poems + whole class discussion

WEEK 15 - Realists
Day 1  - “I Hear America Singing,” Walt Whitman: reading, discussion, & analysis + “I Hear…” poem writing activity
Day 2 - “Song of Myself,” “A Noiseless Patient Spider,” Walt Whitman: reading, discussion, & analysis + friendship bracelet creation to demonstrate themes of interconnectedness of humanity/the human need to connect (***will need beads and elastic string for this class***)

WEEK 16 - Realists
Day 1 - “Because I could not stop for Death–”, Emily Dickinson: reading, group discussion, & whole-class discussion + Dickinson-inspired blackout poetry, if time permits
Day 2 - “The Soul selects her own Society–” & “I heard a Fly buzz– when I died–”, Emily Dickinson: reading, pair/share discussion, & whole-class discussion + found object poetry assignment

*All readings will be provided via PDF so no books will need to be purchased

DAYS OFF
We will not meet on, 
- Labor Day (US)
- The week between Weeks 8 & 9 for Fall Break
- Thanksgiving Day (US)
- The last two weeks of December for Winter/Christmas Break

*For those who choose to pay weekly, the Outschool system continuously pays for the 16 weeks of class, no matter if there are any pre-scheduled days off as it doesn't register days off. So on weeks where we only have one class or no classes, you will still be charged for the full week of class. However, once the 16 weeks of charges go through, you will no longer be charged anymore as the full amount of the class will be paid before the end of the course.