This English 11 course is designed to follow the development of American literature from its early beginning to the contemporary era with attention to the evolution of “The American Dream.” Your teacher will be your guide for your journey as you read short stories, diaries, speeches, sermons, poetry, novels, and journalism. You will explore American writers within the context of biographical, historical and cultural contexts, including the performing and visual arts.
As you work your way through this chronological survey, you will explore seven different literary movements to analyze and evaluate the transformation of the American Dream. This overarching theme exemplifies the American experience, which you will evaluate through your own personal experiences. Throughout the course you will practice your persuasive writing skills by focusing on organization, literary devices, and rhetoric to achieve your writing purpose.
Additionally, you will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of literature through a variety of compositions: literary analysis, research, personal narratives, journal entries, poetry, letters, persuasion, and business correspondence. Warm-ups and content delivery activities are designed to support the application of content assignments.
Some of the activities you will encounter in this course include the following: