Week 1
Lesson 1
Language Had the Power to Change the World: Hardship, Storytelling, and Love
Text: “I Am Offering This Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca.  Skill focus: reading responses and poetry writing.
 Week 2
Lesson 2
I Was Not A Witch / But Now I Am One: The Salem Witch Trials in History & Poetry
Texts: “Half-Hanged Mary” by Margaret Atwood and excerpts from “The Wonders of the Invisible World” by Cotton Mather.  Skill focus: reading non-fiction, elements of poetry, and poetry writing.
 Week 3
Lesson 3
History is Present: Examining the Trail of Tears in Documents & Poetry
Texts: primary source documents on The Trail of Tears and other supplementary sources, “The Trail of Tears: Our Removal” by Linda Hogan.
 Week 4
Lesson 4
A Muddy, Switchback Trail: The Dakota 38 in History, Literature, and Memorial
Texts: “38” by Layli Long Soldier, visual art, “The Speech of Little Crow on the Eve of the Great Sioux Uprising,” an excerpt from This American Life, and the documentary “Dakota 38.”  Skill focus: elements of poetry, writing about poetry.
 Week 5
Lesson 5
Poetry Writing and/or Poetry Paper 
Students will write a literary analysis essay on a poem or poems and/or an original poem, depending on their chosen track for the class.  We’ll have a focused mini lesson based on the issues in students’ drafts, workshop the papers in class, and work on refining and revising students’ work.
 Week 6
Lesson 6
 Resistance and Rebellion in the Indian Boarding Schools
Texts: “Indian Boarding School: The Runaways” by Louise Erdrich, visual art, photography, historical sources, short documentary film.  Skill focus: reading response and elements of poetry.
 Week 7
Lesson 7
Tricks With Rhymes: Oppression, Brutality, and the Literary Tradition.
Texts: “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay and historical sources.  Skill focus: elements of poetry and poetry writing.
 Week 8
Lesson 8
Modern Resistance Movements: the Alcatraz Occupation and Black Lives Matter 
Texts: The Alcatraz Proclamation" and historical sources; “not an elegy for Mike Brown” by Danez Smith and historical sources.  Skill focus: TBD depending on student needs and previous classes.
 Week 9
Lesson 9
Original Poem Based on History and/or Research.
Students will write an original poem based on a historical event and their research on that event.  We’ll have a focused mini lesson based on the issues in students’ drafts, workshop the papers in class, and work on refining and revising students’ work.
 Week 10
Lesson 10
Owning Me Body and Soul: Family, Class, Power, and Resistance.
Text: “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner.  Skill Focus: close reading of a literary passage, elements of fiction, writing about fiction.
 Week 11
Lesson 11
You Don't Understand: Heritage, Identity, and Cultural Conflict.
Text: “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, supporting sources.  
 Week 12
Lesson 12
All the Emotional Baggage: War, Memory, and Burden
Text: “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
 Week 13
Lesson 13
Original Short Story Based on Research and/or Literary Analysis Essay
Students will write an original story based on a historical event and their research on that event and/or a literary analysis essay on a text.  We’ll have a focused mini lesson based on the issues in students’ drafts, workshop the papers in class, and work on refining and revising students’ work.
 Week 14
Lesson 14
Longer Novel Study
TBD depending on students’ interests and abilities.  Options include Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Skill Focus: elements of the novel, tailored mini lessons on skills based on student work thus far in the class.
 Week 15
Lesson 15
Longer Novel Study
TBD depending on students’ interests and abilities.  Options include Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Skill Focus: elements of the novel, tailored mini lessons on skills based on student work thus far in the class.
 Week 16
Lesson 16
Longer Novel Study
TBD depending on students’ interests and abilities.  Options include Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Skill Focus: elements of the novel, tailored mini lessons on skills based on student work thus far in the class.
 Week 17
Lesson 17
Longer Novel Study
TBD depending on students’ interests and abilities.  Options include Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Skill Focus: elements of the novel, tailored mini lessons on skills based on student work thus far in the class.
 Week 18
Lesson 18
Paper on Chosen Novel or Creative Writing Assignment Based on the Novel. 
Students will write a literary analysis essay on the novel and/or an alternative creative writing assignment based on their interest and inspiration.  We’ll workshop their writing in class this week and work on refining and revising students’ work.
 Week 19
Lesson 19
Wrap-Up and Final Projects.
Students will complete a summative individualized project and celebrate a great semester together.