AMERICAN LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION (ENGLISH 10/11)
Tuesdays 1:00 - 2:30 OR Thursdays 1:00 – 2:30
Teacher: TBA
$415 per semester/ $450 for honors level course * (two-semester course)
*There is an annual student fee for all students taking classes at Pacific Coast Learning Center. Some charter schools allow for this fee to be added to the cost of classes rather than being paid out-of-pocket by parents. If your charters agrees, you may add the cost of the student fee to your first PO.
Studying great works of literature will include vocabulary exercises, essay writing, memorization and recitations, oral and multi-media presentations, and in-class essays. Students in this A-G level course will receive instruction on writing research, descriptive, persuasive, and opinion essays, as well as writing poetry and short stories. Unit exams, a long-term research project, oral presentations are all included in the coursework. Instruction will include reading comprehension, writing strategies, text analysis and annotation, research, grammar and spelling mechanics, oral presentations, multi-media presentations, and more.
This rigorous course requires that students complete daily reading and homework assignments, and turn them in for evaluation every week. Parents, students, and the instructor will collaborate through the year to ensure understanding and completion. Grades will be assigned according to the student’s homework, tests and quizzes, writing assignments, presentations, and class participation.
**In order to maximize their learning of American literature, it is rquired that students take the United States History course that is offered on the same day. These classes build upon one another and follow an identical time line. Students will read various genre of literature written from the time period being studied in history, and thus, will have a more comprehensive understanding of the material.
Unit 1- Pre-Colonialism
Colonial America ,Salem Witch Trials
American Revolution
Louisiana Purchase, Gold Rush, Women’s Suffrage
Civil War, Reconstruction
HISTORY: Prohibition, World War I, The Great Depression, World War II
Civil Rights Movement, The Space Race, Vietnam War, Terrorism
Tuesdays 1:00 - 2:30 OR Thursdays 1:00 – 2:30
Teacher: TBA
$415 per semester/ $450 for honors level course * (two-semester course)
*There is an annual student fee for all students taking classes at Pacific Coast Learning Center. Some charter schools allow for this fee to be added to the cost of classes rather than being paid out-of-pocket by parents. If your charters agrees, you may add the cost of the student fee to your first PO.
Studying great works of literature will include vocabulary exercises, essay writing, memorization and recitations, oral and multi-media presentations, and in-class essays. Students in this A-G level course will receive instruction on writing research, descriptive, persuasive, and opinion essays, as well as writing poetry and short stories. Unit exams, a long-term research project, oral presentations are all included in the coursework. Instruction will include reading comprehension, writing strategies, text analysis and annotation, research, grammar and spelling mechanics, oral presentations, multi-media presentations, and more.
This rigorous course requires that students complete daily reading and homework assignments, and turn them in for evaluation every week. Parents, students, and the instructor will collaborate through the year to ensure understanding and completion. Grades will be assigned according to the student’s homework, tests and quizzes, writing assignments, presentations, and class participation.
**In order to maximize their learning of American literature, it is rquired that students take the United States History course that is offered on the same day. These classes build upon one another and follow an identical time line. Students will read various genre of literature written from the time period being studied in history, and thus, will have a more comprehensive understanding of the material.
Unit 1- Pre-Colonialism
- Read and analyze various selections of Native American poetry
- Instruction on thesis writing and five paragraph essay format
- Research totem poles and design a personal totem
- Write an essay explaining personal totem
Colonial America ,Salem Witch Trials
- Read, analyze, and discuss The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- Discuss the aspects of Colonial thought and writing
- Write an analytical essay on the themes of The Crucible
- Read Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Johnathan Edwards
- Interactive creative exploring Edwards’ use of imagery in this work
- Read & analyze poetry by Anne Bradstreet
American Revolution
- Discuss the aspects of Rationalist thought and writing
- Read excerpts of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- Analyze and discuss several of Benjamin Franklin’s aphorisms
- Read and discuss Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues
- Write 13 Personal Virtues essay
- Read and analyze poetry by Phyllis Wheatly
Louisiana Purchase, Gold Rush, Women’s Suffrage
- Discuss the aspects of Romantic and Transcendentalist thought and writing
- Read and discuss excerpts from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Creative activity on themes of The Scarlet Letter
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “The Cask of Amontadillo” by Edgar Allan Poe
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe
- Read, write analysis, and discuss poetry by Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and others
- In-class written poetry analysis
- Read and discuss excerpts from “Nature” by Henry David Thoreau
- Semester exam
Civil War, Reconstruction
- Read and discuss Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- write an argumentative essay on themes pertaining to Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Read and discuss Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Write an analysis essay on the themes in Huckleberry Finn
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
- Write a short story using narrative elements discussed in class
- Oral and multi-media presentation of short story
HISTORY: Prohibition, World War I, The Great Depression, World War II
- Read, write analysis, and discuss Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
- Read, write analysis, and discuss poetry by Robert Frost and Langston Hughes
- Read, write analysis, and discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Read, write analysis, and discuss “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor
- Write a five paragraph essay about The American Dream, based on The Great Gatsby
- Read and discuss Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Memorize a famous American poem and recite it at the annual poetry recital
- Read select works by Ernest Hemingway
- Write a short personal narrative essay in the style of Hemingway
Civil Rights Movement, The Space Race, Vietnam War, Terrorism
- Read and discuss Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Write in-class short answer essays about themes of Farenheit 451
- Research project using modern articles and blogs regarding current events
- Oral and multi-media presentation of research project
- Discuss and analyze modern-day poetry in the forms of rap music and spoken-word videos
- Final Exam
CLASS MATERIALS:
Students should have paperback copies of the following novels:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
The Great Gastby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
All other materials will be supplied in class.