Summer Learning in D.C.

Ford's Theater: Set in Stone program

Ms. Taylor's Day

7:30-8:19 Co-teaching ENG3 with Aho  Rm. 264

8:24-9:12 Co-teaching U.S. History with Wittsig Rm. 149

9:17-10:05 Small Setting ENG203 Rm. 144

10:10-10:58 Advisory/ Lunch

11:03-11:51 Co-teaching ENG3 with Aho  Rm. 264

11:56-12:44 Small Setting ENG203 Rm. 144

12:49-1:37 Co-teaching U.S. History with Wittsig Rm. 149

1:42-2:30 Plan

Ms. Taylor's Wednesday

7:30-8:06 Co-teaching ENG3 with Aho  Rm. 264

8:11-8:47 Co-teaching U.S. History with Wittsig Rm. 149

8:52-9:28 Small Setting ENG203 Rm. 144

9:33-10:05 Extension

10:10-10:46 Advisory/ Lunch

10:51-11:27 Co-teaching ENG3 with Aho  Rm. 264

11:32-12:08 Small Setting ENG203 Rm. 144

12:13-12:49 Co-teaching U.S. History with Wittsig Rm. 149

12:54-1:30 Plan

Syllabus 

English III: American Literature 

Ms. Aho and Ms. Taylor 

Contact Information 

• Ms. Aho

  • Room 264

  • leem@msd19.org

  • (618) 566-8523

• Ms. Taylor

  • Room 144

  • jacksontaylore@msd19.org

  • 618-566-8523

Course Description:  

This class surveys the history of American Literature with an emphasis on literary analysis, oral and written communication skills, and research, with a focus on reading comprehension through the anthology textbook, various novels,  plays, and other sources. The course includes the use of research and technology.  During this year-long course, students will expand skills in argumentative, persuasive, and expository writing.  These skills include focusing, organizing, developing, transitioning, and explaining.  Students will learn to recognize, express, and refine ideas in an effective and interesting manner.  This course includes a study of both academic and content vocabulary, the study of sentence structure and usage, and the development of reading strategies for fiction and non-fiction.  Students will develop and incorporate strategies for constructing meaning.  This includes predicting, summarizing, comprehension, connecting, and inferring.  A special focus on preparation for national and state-wide required standardized testing will be covered in this class.  All literature and writing will explore themes and topics evident in American history and culture.

Semester/ Year Unit Overview and Grading Scale: 

• Semester I - Beginnings to End of Civil War

  • Unit 1:  Foundational Perspectives (“Beginnings” - 1750) 

    • Native Americans and The Colonial Era - myths, firsthand explorer accounts, Puritan lifestyle and writings

    • The Crucible excerpts

  • Unit 2:  Persuasive/Argumentative Strategies and Revolution (1750-1800)

    • Age of Reason - Benjamin Franklin 

    • Revolutionary writings - Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine

    • Persuasive Speeches

  • Unit 3:  Identity and Romanticism (1800-1850)

    •  Creative writing - Washington Irving

    • Gothic writing - Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne

    • Poetry - Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman

    • Transcendentalism -Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau

  • Unit 4:  American Perspectives and Realism (1850-1900)

    • Slave Narratives - Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglas

    • Civil War and Naturalism 

    • Expansion and Regionalism

  • Semester Project: Research/Rhetorical Analysis paper - Famous American Speeches

• Semester II - Post-Civil War to Present

  • Unit 5: Disillusionment and Alienation (Modernism: 1900-1930)

    • Turn of Century, WWI, & Roaring 20s (Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Falkner)

    • The Great Migration & Harlem Renaissance

    • Modernist Poets (T.S. Eliot, Imagists, Frost, Cummings)

  • Unit 6: Hardship, Turmoil, and Despair (Modernism: 1930-1950)

    • The Great Depression and Dust Bowl (John Steinbeck) 

    • WWII

  • Unit 7: Era of Hope and Postmodernism (1950-2000)

    • “Classic Canonical” authors (Heller, Vonnegut, Salinger, Bradbury, Lee, Kerouac)

    • Civil Rights Movement

    • Multi-cultural and female authors

  • Semester Project: Modern Novel Project - American Dream

Assignments Overview:

• Daily work

• Class participation

• Formal and informal writing

• Projects and presentations

• Quizzes

• Tests

Make Up Work and Late Work Policies: 

It is the student's responsibility to keep track of assignments and due dates - use your planner!! 

When late/absent work is turned in place HARD copies in the Late/Absent bin. If it is a digital assignment, sign the clipboard form as we don’t always go back to check old assignments. 

An excused absence grants students the number of days the student is absent to complete the work.  It is the student’s responsibility to check Google Classroom to see what was missed, then approach the teacher with any questions. Utilize the “Weekly Agenda” that will state and link what was covered in class that day. 

***Pre-excused absences when you have been at school require that you collect the work ahead of time and turn it in with the rest of the class. (Ie, orthodontist appointments, early sport’s dismissal, field trips etc.)

Extra Credit Policy:

Extra credit will be offered periodically throughout the semester to the whole class. 

Checking Grades: 

Students are responsible for checking grades and keeping up to date with missing and late assignments. Students are encouraged to check grades regularly on TeacherEase.

Tardies and Dismissals:

Students are considered tardy if they are not in their seats when the bell rings.  School tardy policies will be in effect (see page 19 of MHS handbook).  Teachers dismiss class, not the bell or clock.  

*updated 18 August 2025