American Literature Teacher: Mrs.

Derdiger
2016-2017 Course Syllabus Email: sara.derdiger@has.hc.edu.tw
Textbook: Holt McDougal Literature:
American Literature, Grade 11
Schedule: 3rd Block A Days

Course Description
American Literature focuses on the study and analysis of literature written by authors living in what is now the United
States of America over the last four-hundred years. This year’s American Literature class will explore the overarching
topic of “Voices of the Under-Represented” as we read our course novels as well as short stories, excerpts, essays, and
poetry. America has been known as “The Melting Pot,” a name given based on its wide array of citizens and non-citizens,
who come from a wide array of backgrounds. This great variety of people has made America what it is today and is
reflected in its literature. This is a defining aspect of American culture and thus will be the focus of our studies this year.
Students will be writing responses to texts as well as essays as we explore the literature being presented. We will also
discuss historical events during the time periods being discussed in order to deepen our understanding of the context in
which these authors were writing.

Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
 Read literature at the 11th grade level.
 Analyze literature for theme, plot, purpose, style, rhetoric, and development.
 Discuss the relevance of historical context on a work of literature.
 Compare themes across genres, time periods, and texts.
 Write essays and responses to literature at the 11th grade level.
 Participate in collaborations and conversations with respect and responsibility.
 Meet the grade 11/12 reading, writing, language, and speaking and listening standards.

Required Materials
● Pens, pencils, highlighters, and erasers
● Notebook and paper
● 3-Ring binder or folder to store and organize class materials and assignments
● Homework diary
● Electronic dictionary
● Laptop and headphones are highly recommended.
● Textbook: Holt McDougal Literature: American Literature, Grade 11
● Novels: Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

Course Schedule*
Unit Topics and Themes Readings Duration
Unit 1 Early American Literature (1600- -The World on the Turtle’s Back” by the Iroquois (p. 5 weeks
1800) 38)
  Native American literature -“Coyote and the Buffalo” as retold by Mourning
 Early settlers Dove (p. 48)
 The Puritans -“The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
 Revolutionaries Equiano” by Olaudah Equiano (p. 82)
-“La Relación” by Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca (p.
72)
-“Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford (p.
102)
-Act One of The Crucible by Arthur Miller (p. 134)
-“The Demons of Salem, With Us Still” by Victor
Navasky (p. 218)
-“Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick
Henry (p. 228)
-The Declaration of Independence by Thomas
Jefferson (p. 238)
Assessment: Cube Project -“Letter to John Adams” by Abigail Adams (p. 262)
Beliefs, values, and religion in
literature
Unit 2 American Romanticism (1800- ◊Novel Study: 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup 6 weeks
1855) -“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (p. 370)
 The Transcendentalists -“Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau (p.
 Novel Study 390)
-“On Civil Disobedience” by Mohandas K. Gandhi
(p. 400)
Assessment: Newspaper Article -“Women in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret
Report on the story of Solomon Fuller (p. 404)
Northup
Unit 3 Romanticism to Realism (1855- -“From the Preface to Leaves of Grass” by Walt 5 Weeks
1870) Whitman (p. 540)
 Literature of the Civil War -Assorted Walt Whitman poems
 Whitman and Dickenson -“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily
Dickenson (p. 548)
-“My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun” by Emily
Dickenson (p. 554)
-“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas” by
Frederick Douglas (p. 560)
-“Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet
Jacobs (p. 574)
-“What Slaves are Taught to Think of the North” by
Linda Brent (Harriet Jacobs)
-“The Emancipation Proclamation” by Abraham
Lincoln (p. 588)
Assessment: Student choice menu -“Speech to the American Equal Rights Association”
by Sojourner Truth (p. 596)
Unit 4 Regionalism and Naturalism (1870- ◊The Jungle by Upton Sinclair 6 weeks
1910) -“Boyhood Days” by Booker T. Washington
 Regionalism -Excerpt from My Ántonia by Willa Cather
 Naturalism -Excerpt from American Indian Stories, Legends,
 Female writers and Other Writings by Zitkala-Sa
Assessment: Response to -Excerpt from The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Literature -Excerpt from How the Other Half Lives by Jacob A.
The Jungle Riis
Unit 5 The Harlem Renaissance and
Modernism (1910-1940)
 The Harlem Renaissance
 New Poetry
 The modern short story
 Journalism as Literature
Assessment: Project
Presentation on an author
Unit 6 Post Modern Literature (1940-
1990)
 Modern American drama
 Responses to war
 Civil Rights and protest
literature
Assessment: Comparison Essay
Film V. Literature
Unit 7 Literature of the New Millennium
(1990-Present)
Assessment: Personal Narrative
*Course schedule subject to change
-“Harlem” by Langston Hughes (P. 880) 4 Weeks
-“I, Too” by Langston Hughes (P. 883)
-“My City” by James Weldon Johnson (p. 888)
-“If We Must Die” by Claude McKay (p. 890)
-“Any Human to Another” by Countee Cullen (p.
894)
-“How it Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale
Hurston (p. 900)
-Excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God by
Zora Neal Hurston
-“Thoughts on the African-American Novel” by Toni
Morrison (p. 910)
◊Novel Study: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 5 weeks
-“Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall (p.
1214)
-“Stride Toward Freedom” by Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. (p. 1220)
-“Necessary to Protect Ourselves” interview with
Malcolm X by Les Crane (p. 1224)
-“Revolutionary Dreams” by Nikki Giovanni (p.
1247)
-“Why Soldiers Won’t Talk” by John Steinbeck (p.
1172)
-“Adam” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (p. 1180)
-“Ambush” by Tim O’Brien (p. 1196)
-“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
-Excerpt from No-No Boy by John Okada
-“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan (p. 1264) 4 weeks
-“Broken Tongues” by Alex Dang
-Excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safron Foer
-“The Hurt Locker” and “What Every Soldier Should
Know” by Brian Turner
-“Ye Modern Woman” by Dasha Kelly

Grading Policy
Grades are calculated according to the category weights listed below:

Unit Assessments: 30%

Homework: 30%
Classwork: 30%
Participation: 10%
Participation will be graded using ClassDojo.com and students will be expected to create an account and register in the
class using the code given by the teacher.

Quarter 1: 40%
Quarter 2: 40%
Final Exam: 20%

Assignment Policy
Assignment instructions and deadlines are posted regularly on RenWeb. Students are expected to check RenWeb each
day for assignment postings, class announcements, and other updates from the teacher. Students are also expected to
complete and submit assignments according to assignment instructions as posted on RenWeb. Parents will be able to
access all this information through the parent portal.

All assignments should be completed and submitted before the deadlines as posted on RenWeb. Submitting
assignments late will immediately result in a 10% penalty. Any assignment submitted more than two weeks late after
a deadline may not be accepted for credit.

All assignments that are submitted on RenWeb must be saved in the following format:
Assignment Title, Class Abbreviation, Last Name, First Name
Ex. ResearchPaper, IntroLit, DerdigerSara

Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Assignments or exams that show
evidence of cheating or plagiarism will not be accepted and will receive no credit. Serious incidents of academic
dishonesty will be subject to immediate disciplinary measures.

All assignments submitted in this class must exhibit a student’s original ideas and language. Information that is
borrowed from other authors and sources must be properly cited in MLA format. Failure to attribute ownership to
rightful authors is considered plagiarism (as this is fraudulently claiming ownership of another’s
work). Misappropriation of an artist or peer’s work and/or published images also constitutes plagiarism. Any work
that makes use of another artists’ work and/or published images must show substantial development beyond
duplication.

Behavior Expectations

CLASSROOM CONDUCT
All students are expected to respect each other, the teacher, and the classroom learning environment. This includes:
● Arriving to class on time (seated at your assigned desk with all of your materials before the bell is finished
ringing at the start of class and at the end of break time). Students who arrive late to class without an excused
pass, will be marked tardy. Tardy students are subject to the punishments outlined in the student handbook.

● Following classroom rules and procedures as outlined by instructor

Be safe.
Be respectful.
Be responsible.

● Following behavior policies outlined in the HAS Student Handbook.

DEADLINES
Aside from excused absences, NO excuses are accepted for late work. If assignments are submitted to RenWeb,
students should prepare backup copies elsewhere online or on a USB in the event that a submission does not upload
successfully.

Students absent from class are expected to meet with the teacher the next day they are present in school to establish
new deadlines for their makeup work. Students absent on days assignments are due must submit their assignments the
next class day.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES
With the exception of electronic dictionaries, no electronic devices can be used in the classroom without the permission
from the teacher. At all times, students are expected to be attentive and prepared to participate and communicate with
their teacher and peers. In order to maintain an engaged and productive learning environment, students are not
allowed to wear earphones/headphones during class. In addition, earphones and headphones are not permitted in the
classroom and should be stored in students’ lockers.

Many assignments and class activities will require students to use computers and access the Internet. Though school
computers can be utilized for this purpose, it is highly recommended that students bring a personal laptop or other
portable computer to school. Because using smartphones are prohibited in the classroom, the use of laptops will be
permitted on a regular basis.

Devices or accessories being used without permission will be confiscated for the duration of the class period or entire
school day, at the teacher’s discretion.

CLASSROOM CLEANLINESS
No food or drink (except water) may be consumed or brought into the classroom at any time. Students may bring
water bottles to class. Any other food or drink found in the classroom will be confiscated.

DISCIPLINARY MEASURES
Failure to comply with class or school policies and expectations may result in one or more of the following, depending
on the frequency and severity of the infraction:
● Meeting with teacher outside of class to write an action plan.
● An email home to parents.
● Detention after school.
● Meeting with parents and school administration.
● Suspension from school.
● Other measures as deemed appropriate by the school administration.