Honors American Literature- 10th Grade

Ms. Amy McGrath

720-424-1803

Goals:

  1. To increase understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of various types of literature, and to understand how American Literature is a record of the American experience.
  2. To develop best writing practices in regards to usage, punctuation, sentence and paragraph construction, grammar and spelling.
  3. To recognize and analyze various literary genres.
  4. To use literature as the inspiration for creative and critical writing. Including

• using fictional, dramatic, and poetic techniques in writing;

• conveying technical information in a written and spoken form appropriate to the audience;

• supporting an opinion using various forms of persuasion (factual or emotional) in speaking and writing;

• incorporating material from a wider range of sources (for example, newspapers, magazines, interviews, technical publications, books) in their writing and speaking;

• selecting a focused topic and drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading a legible final copy;

• experimenting with stylistic elements such as voice, tone, style, and audience in writing.

  1. To utilize a full range of strategies to comprehend essays, speeches, biographies, autobiographies, and first person historical documents in addition to short stories and the novel.
  2. To recognize and analyze various literary genres.
  3. To participate in meaningful discussion and speak about literature studied.
  4. To develop a greater appreciation and understanding of the varied cultural, historic, social and artistic contexts of American literature.
  5. To apply knowledge from course by increasing standardized test scores such as Benchmark Exams, CSAP, and ACT/SAT.

Texts:

  1. Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes, The American Experience
  2. Springboard: American Lit
  3. Novels may include: The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, Invisible Man, Cat’s Cradle and others
  4. Various other resources provided by teacher and student

Supplies:

  1. Please have a folder or 12” binder dedicated to keeping all your American Lit coursework, handouts, etc.
  2. Please bring a pencil or blue or black pen to class EVERY day.
  3. You will need to have access to a word processor/computer for many assignments. Please let me know right away if you do not have home access to a computer.

What to expect:

  1. A considerable amount of reading. For a country with a relatively “short” history, there’s a LOT of literature.
  2. A considerable amount of writing, both critical and creative. You will write a variety of different essays including personal essays, literary responses and research papers.
  3. Grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, best writing practices.
  4. Class discussion, group projects, creative projects, note taking, presentations, etc.
  5. Some weeks, you’ll feel like you have a lot of homework. Some weeks, you’ll have much less. I try my best to balance it out and be respectful of production times and your busy schedules.

Grading and Attendance:

Points are cumulative throughout the semester. Assignments will be given point values based on the time required and expectations of the assignment.

Work will be turned in on time. LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR 50% CREDIT.

Makeup work from excused absences will be completed promptly. It is YOUR responsibility to find out what work you missed if you were absent.

Makeup work will NOT be accepted for unexcused absences. All unexcused absences (truancies) will be reported to the student advisor.

*******COMMUNICATE WITH ME AHEAD OF TIME IF YOU NEED HELP OR MORE TIME TO GET SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENTS OR PROJECTS FINISHED. Coming to me on the day assignments are due (or after) with excuses will do no good- don’t even try it! Students who attend regularly, conscientiously complete assignments and participate in class discussion will earn a good grade. Don’t be late. Don’t ditch. Don’t blow off assignments and homework.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT GRADING!

It is important to me that your written work be given the consideration it deserves. That consideration takes time. Daily homework assignments will generally be graded within a week, but papers take me longer- sometimes a month, depending on the assignment. Please be patient with me, I want to be able to read and think about what you have to say- not just skim!

PROGRESS MONITORING:

  • Grades in Infinite Campus will be updated once a week.
  • Every 3 weeks prog/elig grades will be used to help identifying struggling students for interventions including tutoring.
  • Every week, IC Messenger will send notices regarding failing assignments. These are notices of assignments that earned a failing grade (less than 59%). To verify a student’s class grade, you will need to check IC in more detail. Please keep in mind the grading policies as stated in the syllabus above. IC Messenger will also send out a message if the student has missed an assignment. Failing grades will be sent once per week, missing grades may be sent multiple times over a nine-week period.

Tardy Policy:

Being on time to class is a respect issue. I make a point to treat my students with respect, and showing up on time is one way for students to return that respect. If you have a hard time getting to class on time, I’ll probably give you a hard time. If it continues to be an issue, you’ll be referred to the Student Advisor. PLEASE BE ON TIME TO CLASS!!!

Enough rules! Welcome to American Lit X!

I have read and understand the expectations, grading and tardy policies of Ms. McGrath’s American Literature class:

Student ______Date______

Parent______Date_____

Honors American Literature Course Map

First Semester Overview / Second Semester Overview
The American Dream: What does it mean?
Read, write, discuss, explore- Langston Hughes, Mark Twain, Paul Simon, e.e.cummings, Rage Against the Machine, Lee Greenwood and more / The Human Sprit and the Natural World: The Transcendentalists: Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, Dickinson, Dillard
Read, write, discuss, explore
Film “Dead Poet’s Society”
Creative Project: Transcendentalist Poster Contest
Original American Stories:
Native American mythology, Jamestown, The Mayflower, Plymouth
Critical essay: John Smith Pocahontas and the impact of “Disneyfication” on American culture and storytelling. / Black and Blue: The American “Other” and the personal narrative: The Harlem Renaissance, American existentialism
Invisible Man: Ralph Ellison, Louis Armstong, Jazz, Blues, Hip-hop
Read write, discuss, explore:
The “other” women: Hurston, Cisneros, Walker, Tan, Angelou
Writing: The personal essay
The Foundations: The Puritans, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Ann Bradstreet
Read, write, discuss, explore / Focus on Writing: College Level Research Paper
Research strategies, planning and note-taking, source evaluation and source citation, editing and revision
The Big Ideas: Franklin, Jefferson and the Founding Documents
Read, write, discuss, explore / Disillusion, Defiance, Discontent: The 20th Century Poets: Eliot, Pound, Williams, H.D., cummings, Auden, Stevens
Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Hemmingway,
Read, write and discuss.
Paranoia and Intolerance- An American Legacy:
The Crucible, Arthur Miller.
Film: “Goodnight and Goodluck”
Discussion, McCarthy, Miller, Kazan and the ghosts of Salem.
Critical essay: Exploring theme in The Crucible
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Creative Project: Seeing Red: Inside the world of The Scarlet Letter / This Land is Your Land:
Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck
Sandburg, Guthrie, Dylan
Read, write, listen, sing and discuss
American Gothic-
Scary Stories: Irving, Poe, Hawthorne, Oates / Independent Novel Project: The American Dream vs. The American “other”- contemporary perspectives.
Develop writing portfolio of critical and creative perspectives.
“The Bookseller’s Day”