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"Learning isn't a way of reaching one's potential, but rather a way of developing it" - Anders Ericsson
Individuality, Conformity, Society and the American Dream
Course Description
This course is a tech-integrated college preparatory English course designed to provide students with the opportunity to gain the skills necessary for success in college. In this course, we will further develop our critical thinking skills as we read and respond to selected literary works from each of the following periods and movements in American Literature: Colonialism, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Modernism, Harlem Renaissance, and Contemporary. We will also continue to develop and expand upon our writing skills through the writing of a variety of expositional and creative papers with a special focus on the research process and the thesis-based research paper. Critical analysis of film, student presentations, and academic discourse activities will provide us with opportunities to further develop literacy in a variety of media beyond print.
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
What is “American”?
How was the American identity created?
Why have people come to America and continue to come?
How can fear be used to manipulate?
How does fear drive action?
How has the concept of civil disobedience influenced America?
What is the role of the individual in society?
What is good for the community? WHat are implications for individuals?
Why do people conform? Or not? What happens as a result of these choices?
What is the American Dream? To what extent is it achievable by all? What values does it reflect?
Can we repeat the past?
Is the journey as important as the destination?
How do we relate to our families, communities, and society? To what extent is each relationship important?
How do our personal journeys shape who we become?
Competencies
Competencies
Reading
Demonstrate the ability to comprehend, analyze and critique increasingly complex literature in a wide range of formats and multiple genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
Writing
Students will use the writing process to demonstrate the ability to analyze, critique, and create texts with different styles and topics. These concepts include but are not limited to supporting claims and reasoning with sufficient evidence for an intended purpose and audience, focusing on word choice, tone, and perspective, and utilizing the correct MLA format and citations.
Research
Demonstrate the ability to effectively engage in ethical inquiry and research practices - managing multiple streams of information, evaluating sources, analyzing information, and presenting results. *
Listening/Speaking/ Viewing
Demonstrate the ability to listen and view critically as well as participate effectively in academic discourse – speaking purposefully and responding thoughtfully while demonstrating respect for diverse perspectives and making strategic decisions about content, language use and discourse style. *
Technology
Students will demonstrate the ability to use the tools of technology (including digital media and the Internet) to ethically and responsibly gather, interpret, analyze information, create shareable products and reflect on individual performance. *
*As specified in course specific criteria for each semester.
Juniors- All Levels
Textbook(s):
Prentice Hall: The American Experience
Literary Works by Author & Period/Movement
Romanticism
Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter
Thoreau - Walden and Other Writings
Realism
Twain - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Naturalism
Modernism
Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms
Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea
Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises
Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath
Contemporary
Green - The Fault in Our Stars
Hansberry - A Raisin in the Sun
Hillerman -Dance Hall of the Dead
O’Brien- The Things They Carried
Rosenberg - 42: The Official Movie Novel
Schanzer - Witches: The Absolute True Tale of Disaster in Salem
Are statements summarizing important ideas and core processes that are central to a discipline and have lasting value beyond the classroom.
Synthesize what students should understand—not just know or do—as a result of studying a particular content area.
Articulate what students should “revisit” over the course of their lifetimes in relationship to the content area.
1. Effective communication relies on the usage of proper forms
2. Writers have a purpose for writing
3. Listening skills are critical for learning and communicating
4. Ideas can be represented in a variety of mediums and may vary
5. Reading novels by different authors and cultures, builds an understanding of the human experience.
6. Reading is a process that includes applying a variety of strategies to improve comprehension, interpretation and evaluation of texts.
7. Engaging in research /inquiry to investigate topics and to analyze, integrate, and present information and validate sources gives depth of knowledge
8. Utilize the tools of technology to gather, interpret, and analyze information and create sharable products
Understand the way major works reflect the cultures of America at various points in its history
Trace through selected literary and historical texts the development of American consciousness, attitudes, and ideals.
Corrine Murphy
Corrine Murphy
English Teacher
Adult Education Teacher
Student Activities Advisor
Special Needs Advocate
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