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

Focusing on reading literature in historical context 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?  

—What additional understanding do we gain when we read literature in its historical context?

--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 the chosen novel.  All other texts and sources will be  available online.

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