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English 11

Basic & On Demand

Enrollment for Basic and On Demand courses is open on a rolling basis.

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Plus

Teachers can use the complete Plus course curriculum for flexible instruction.

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Course Summary

Learn what makes American literature American. Examine literary movements in American literature from pre-colonial to contemporary times, including Romanticism, the Harlem Renaissance, and Postmodernism. Students read plays, novels, and poetry that have influenced the cultural landscape of the United States. Improve your writing with literary techniques you learn in this course.

Curriculum

This is a 2-semester course. We do not recommend taking both semesters simultaneously.

Unit 1: Pre-Colonial Period
  • Intro to Early American Literature
  • Travel Narratives and Cabeza de Vaca
  • Point of View
  • Creation Myths
  • Evaluating Credibility
  • Comparing Literature
  • POV SOAPSTone
  • Rhetorical Appeals
  • Look What You Did SOAPSTone
  • Citations
Unit 2: Colonial Period
  • The Crucible: Introduction
  • Puritan Life
  • The Crucible: Background
  • The Crucible: Political Background
  • The Crucible Act 1
  • The Crucible Act 2
  • The Crucible Act 3
  • The Crucible Act 4
  • Slave Narratives
  • Up From Slavery
  • Dunbar Introduction
  • We Wear Analysis
  • W.E.B. Du Bois and E.A. Robinson
Unit 3: Revolutionary Period
  • Declaration of Independence Introduction and Background
  • DeTocqueville Introduction and Democracy in America
  • Second Inaugural Address
Unit 4: Romanticism and Transcendentalism
  • Romanticism Introduction and My Bondage Analysis
  • Dickinson Introduction and Hope Frigate Analysis
  • Simile vs. Metaphor
  • Transcendentalism and Where I Lived Analysis
  • Civil Disobedience
Unit 5: Realism
  • Whitman Introduction and I Hear America Analysis
  • An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Analysis
  • Realism Introduction
  • Theme and Irony
  • Modern Day Media
  • Evaluating Credibility
Unit 6: Modernist Movement
  • Modernism Introduction
  • The Red Wheelbarrow Analysis
  • E.E. Cummings and anyone lived Analysis
  • T.S. Eliot and Prufrock Analysis
  • Pronouns
  • Grammar: Reflexive, Relative, Interrogative
  • Grammar: Subjective and Objective Case
Unit 7: Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
  • Antecedents
  • Jazz Age Historical Background 
  • First Person Peripheral and The Great Gatsby Chapter 1
  • The Great Gatsby Chapter 2
  • The Great Gatsby Chapters 3 and 4
  • Symbolism and The Great Gatsby Chapter 5
  • The Great Gatsby Chapter 6
  • Foils and The Great Gatsby Chapter 7
  • The Great Gatsby Chapters 8 and 9
Unit 8: Harlem Renaissance and Research
  • Harlem Renaissance
  • Analyzing Similes in Poetry
  • Determining a Topic for Research
  • Research Essentials
  • Evaluating Credibility
  • Research Paper Works Cited
  • Research Organizing: Outlines
  • Avoiding Plagiarism
  • Research Paper Final Draft
  • The Glass Menagerie Scenes 1 and 2
  • Memory Play and The Glass Menagerie Scenes 3 and 4
  • The Glass Menagerie Scenes 5 and 6
  • The Glass Menagerie Scene 7
Unit 9: Postmodernism
  • Postmodernism and WWII
  • Beat Generation and Howl
  • Bush 9/11 Speech
  • Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
  • Reciting Poetry