English III is a survey of American Literature and literary culture from its inception through the twentieth century. Emphasis is placed on a rhetorical analysis of the literature to determine how authors achieve a particular purpose or effect. Through focused readings, composition, speaking and listening activities, vocabulary study and research, students will continue to build the literacy skills they need to meet the challenges of high school and beyond. To become critical consumers of text, students will be exposed to increasingly more complex texts to which they apply those skills. That critical content is both rigorous and relevant and includes high-quality contemporary works as well as the classics of literature, in addition to classic myths and stories from around the world, America’s founding documents, foundational American literature, and Shakespeare.