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CLASSROOM CALENDAR

English 11 SYLLABUS

American Literature                              Downloadable/Google Drive Syllabus

Mrs. Alcala | Room 109  | Phone: 928-634-7531 Ext. 1109 | Email: jalcala@muhs.com

American Literature

In this course, students will explore the different facets and genres contained in American Literature, as well as focus and hone skills in Rhetorical Analysis. With each time period alongside the growth of American Literature, we will explore a mix of fiction, nonfiction, informational texts, historic documents, and poetry.  Throughout the course of these units, students will read, write, create, present, and most of all learn and grow. Some of the literary genres included in this class are as follows:

-   Beginnings/Colonialism/Puritans      -    Enlightenment.    -   Romanticism     -   Realism    -   Moderns      -     Contemporary 

Here are just some of the texts that we will be reading this year:

- Native American Creation Stories

- Various works by Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson

- The Cask of the Amontillado and Mask of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe 

- Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

- The Crucible by Arthur Miller

- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

- 1984 by George Orwell

Essential Questions for this Course:

-  What is an American?

-  How does literature create conceptions of the American experience and American identity?

-  What are the distinctive voices and styles in American literature? 

-  How do social and political issues influence the American canon?

-  What characteristics of a literary work have made it influential over time?

-  What can we learn today from American literature classics?

-   How will we shape the future of American literature?

-   What is Rhetoric, and how do authors use it to convey meaning? 

GRADING POLICY

All assignments are set to be worth a pre-determined amount of points. More challenging or lengthy assignments will be worth more points than shorter, simpler assignments, but all points add up! This English 11 course has a total of 2 finals, one per semester, as well as several long-form written assignments, quizzes, unit tests, and a mid-term to assess student understanding and performance. 

One of our measurement tools at Mingus Union High School to assess student knowledge and student growth is our NWEA Map Assessments.  We give these assessments three times during the school year, once in the Fall, Winter, and Spring.  To help ensure students truly demonstrate their ability and are motivated, they receive 10% of their classroom grade from their performance on these assessments in every class at MUHS.  The student grade will be determined by learning growth and/or achievement during the semester.

LATE ASSIGNMENTS

Late assignments will be accepted for one school week past their due date for potential full credit. After one school week, the assignment will not be accepted. Exceptions for extenuating circumstances may be made at the teacher's discretion. Communication about potential issues BEFORE they become emergent is strongly encouraged.