Looking for an American Literature class that will get your student thinking critically, reading great literature, and developing essential skills?

Focusing on the theme of the American Dream through a lens of the intersectionality of race, class, and gender, this innovative class will explore both canonical and diverse text.  Students will build skills in literary analysis and writing and will have lots of opportunities for individualization.

This is a full-year curriculum for high school, divided into two semesters. Separate enrollment is required for each semester. Semesters may be taken independently or consecutively. 

Expectations for the honors track and the standard track will be offered before the class begins for students who would like to receive a grade for the course. The honors track will require students to complete three literary analysis essays as well as at least two creative writing assignments while a standard track will have the option to write a literary analysis essay or a creative project for each of the four main assignments. All grading will be done with rubrics which will also be shared with students ahead of time so that they are clear on the expectations of the course.

Essential Questions of the Course

--What is the American Dream, and is it obtainable for everyone?  

--How do factors such as race, class, and gender affect access to the American Dream?  

--How do writers utilize different genres to express ideas, experiences, and emotions?

--What are the elements of literature, and how to writers utilize them to convey their messages to a reader?

--How do we as readers use writing to more deeply analyze and understand literature?

--What are the conventions of literary analysis writing?

--What are our responsibilities to help make the American Dream more obtainable for all?

Weekly Expectations

While some weeks will vary depending on the focus or needs of the class, this is the general outline that we’ll follow each week.

Reading assignment, close reading questions, and informal writing assignment (usually a reaction to the reading) will be posted in the classroom one week before class.  Homework will start off light and build as the class continues, but students should expect to spend 1-3 hours on homework depending on their reading speed.  Besides the primary texts listed below, students will explore engaging contemporary nonfiction articles, videos, and TED Talks when applicable.

Homework will be due the day before class so that I can check it for understanding and to see if there are any issues to address in class.

Class Schedule

Again, this schedule will vary, but in general class will have the following flow.

Opening Freewrite (5 minutes).  Each class will start with a quick write on an engaging and thematically related prompt.  This is a nice way to get students thinking about the themes of the class and more comfortable with writing.  I have found that frequent freewriting is one of the best ways to increase writing fluency and get students past writer’s block.

Class Check-in (5 minutes).  After the opening freewrite, we’ll go around and report on any issues or check in about projects, scheduling, etc.  I’ll also take this time to go over upcoming homework or assignments.

Full-Class Discussion (30 minutes).  Students will have read and answered questions on the reading for homework, so we’ll be able to jump right in to a discussion together!  This is the most fun part of the class for me, but I get that not everyone loves discussion.  I’ll never force students to participate, but I will do my best to make participating as easy and painless as possible.  (If students are receiving a grade for the class, they will have a percentage of their grade that is from the discussion.)

Mini-Lesson on Skill (10 minutes).  I try to keep the lecturing to a minimum—therefore, the mini lesson will quickly go over the skill so that students can get right to practicing.  The skills that we’ll focus on in the class will relate to close reading and analysis and writing literary analysis essays.  I think that one of the best ways to better understand literary elements is to write them ourselves, and so we’ll get practice with poetry writing and short story writing too!

Group, Partner, or Full-Class Practice of Skill (20 minutes).  No boring worksheets or pointless tasks here.  Students will work on developing their critical thinking, reading, and writing skills by completing interesting and engaging exercises on their own or with their peers.

Closing Freewrite or Creative Writing Exercise (5 minutes).  We’ll close out class with a low-key freewrite or fun creative writing exercise to get students writing (again!), thinking, and bringing together the themes and ideas of the day.

Required Texts

Students will need a copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God.  All other texts and sources will be  available online.

Class Outline

Semester 1: The American Dream

“There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.”—Jackie Robinson

Week 1: What do We Mean When We Say “America"? Text: “Let American be America” by Langston Hughes.  Skill Focus: reading responses and poetry writing.

Week 2: Is the “Golden Door” Open to All? Texts: “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus and “Prospective Immigrants Please Note” by Adrienne Rich, supplementary sources on the immigration experience.  Skill Focus: elements of poetry and poetry writing.

Week 3: Who is Invited to Sit at our Table? Texts: “I, Too” by Langston Hughes and “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman.  Skill Focus: reading responses, elements of poetry, and poetry writing.

Week 4: Homesickness, Isolation, and Power Dynamics Texts: “Postcard from Kashmir” by Agha Shahid Ali; “My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop” by Naomi Shihab Nye; “The Island Within” by Richard Blanco; “La Mira” by Pat Mora; “Elena” by Pat Mora.  Skill Focus: how to write about poetry in a literary analysis essay.

Week 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: Like a Broken Accordion: Poverty, Memory, and Rage. Texts: “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier, supplementary video.  Skill Focus: elements of a short story and short story writing. 

Week 7: You Could be Anything You Wanted to be in America. Texts: “Texts: Two Kinds” by Amy Tan and “Geraldo No Last Name” by Sandra Cisneros.  Skill Focus: how to write about fiction in a literary analysis essay.

Week 8: Even as My Dreams Fade, I Have Others: Nature, Love, and Dreams.  Text: “John Redding Goes to Sea” by Zora Neale Hurston. Skill Focus: close reading of a literary passage, elements of a short story, short story writing.

Week 9: Ah Wantah Cross Jurden in Uh Calm Time: Music, Language, and Religion. Texts:“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, music, and African American Spirituals.  Skill Focus: elements of a short story with a focus on allusions, short story writing.

Week 10: Characterization Analysis Assignment and/or Short Story Writing. Students will write a literary analysis of a story and/or an original story, depending on their chosen track for the class.  We’ll have a focused mini lesson based on the issues in students’ drafts, workshop their writing in class, and work on refining and revising students’ work.

Week 11: A Brown Bag of Miscellany: Identity and Belonging.  Texts: “How It Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston and “Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherjee.  Skill focus: elements of literary nonfiction with a focus on figurative language.

Week 12: Just Remember the Stories.  Text: Leslie Marmon Silko’s “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective.”  Skill focus: storytelling, elements of literary nonfiction, nonfiction writing.

Week 13: Creation Stories, Personal Fictions, and Native Worldview.  Text: ’You’ll Never Believe What Happened’ is an Always a Great Way to Start” by Thomas King.  Skill focus: elements of nonfiction writing, how to write about nonfiction, essay writing.

Week 14: Original Literary Essay Writing. Students will write an original essay inspired by the essays we read in 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 15: One Woman’s Search for Her Dream.  Text: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston plus some supplementary sources.  Skill Focus: elements of the novel, tailored mini lessons on skills based on student work thus far in the class.

Week 16: One Woman’s Search for Her Dream. Text: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston plus some supplementary sources.  Skill Focus: Mini lessons on skills based on student work thus far in the class.

Week 17: One Woman’s Search for Her Dream. Text: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston plus some supplementary sources.  Skill Focus: elements of the novel, tailored mini lessons on skills based on student work thus far in the class.

Week 18: Students will write a literary analysis essay on Their Eyes Were Watching God and/or a creative writing assignment inspired by the book, 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 19: Wrap Up and Final Projects. Students will complete a summative individualized project and celebrate a great semester together.

I’ve been teaching English for over 20 years and the American Dream is one of my favorite themes—I love to challenge teens and get them to question what they’re told and think for themselves.  This class will give them the skills to do that, all while they read some fabulous literature.

Cover Image Credit: Photo by JJ Jordan on Unsplash