Contents
This will be a challenging and an exciting year!! Your class has been chosen to participate in a thematic, interdisciplinary curriculum course. This means that our English course will revolve around themes and essential questions and will closely tie to Mr. Miller's US History course. This year our theme is The Rise of the American Spirit and American Identity. To ensure a successful and educational learning experience, our class will utilize many of the Principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES). The most important Principle that will be prevalent throughout this course is all students can learn and all student will learn to use their minds well.
While exploring our theme, we will
look at the societal and cultural fences that give shape, meaning and
sometimes trouble to an easy definition of what is an American. We
will also read historical essays, interview immigrants, look at
popular culture, read poetry, non-fiction and novels.
Our Essential Questions which will be raised and explored in class are
Other questions which will be explored~ first semester include
During quarter 1 we will have three
major projects connected with your work in your US History class.
These connections include an immigrant's journal entitled "A Journey
to a New World", a Family Odyssey, and an Essay answering our
essential questions.
In addition to the works listed
above, you are expected to successfully complete a class portfolio
and participate in our writing workshop.
To ensure your success you will need
the following materials for class (bring EVERYDAY): an agenda book,
two pens (1 blue or black and 1 color ) one writing fader with
loose-leaf paper, and one notebook (a two sepia notebook is best)
Homework Hotline Number 701
American Studies
1996/1997 Course outline
Semester 1
Quarter I -- The American Identity
Writing Workshop: Review
Narrative.
(2 days a week) Expository
Week 1:
Getting to know students
Discussion of expectations and standards
Creating class norms/goals
Overview Of Semester I
Week 2:
Discussion on values and
students' vision of what is an American.
Why people came to America--the immigrants contribution
Begin journal of a "Journey to a New World"
Week 3:
Week 4:
Continue with a loot at the making of the American identity
Week 5:
Continue with a loot at the making of the American identity
Week 6:
??? How have the definitions of an American work with or
work against your own definition of what is an American?
Week 7:
Week 8:
Week 9:
Week 10:
FINAL
Connection with US History:
1. Journal depicting a "Journey to a New World" (separate grade)
2. Family Odyssey (separate grade)
3. Essay: What is an American?
(shared grade)
Quarter 2 -- The Spirit of the
Individual
Theme: The Rise of the American
identity/American Spirit
Essential Questions: How are our identities formed?
How does our definition of an American work with or work against our own identity?
Other Topics to Explore: Inclusion vs. Exclusion
Assimilation vs. Hyphenation
Is America a melting pot? or
?????
Writing Workshop: Descriptive
(2 days a week)
Novel: Choose one novel from the following list
The Awakening
Catcher in the Rye
Color Purple
House on Mango Street
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Short Stones choose 4 from the following list:
"Mr. Heidegger's Experiment"
"Everyday Use"
"How to Tame a Wild Tongue"
"The Devil and Tom Walker"
"The First Seven Years"
Week 1:
Review of quarter 1 - Look at themes and where we are headed
Revisit goals and objectives, class norms, etc.
Conversations on values
Week 2:
House On Mango Street
Writing Workshop - narration
Quarter 2-The Struggle for
Identity
Week 3:
Finish House on Mango Street
Week 4:
Creation of murals that depict "our" story, "our" society/community
Celebration of one's culture to the American identity
How are our values formed?
Week 5:
Discussions on what it means to be self-reliant, an individual
A look at quotes that support these ideas-student reactions
Week 6:
The Spirit of the Individual - Transcendentalism
"A Psalm of Life" Longfellow
Begin Emerson
Week 7:
Continue Emerson
Being Thoreau
Week 8:
Continue working with ideas of the Transcendentalist
Week 9:
Connecting transcendentalism with one's own life
I AM poem and collage
Week 10: Final
REVIEW OF SEMESTER 1
HELP!!!!! 60 students in one class is
overwhelming. We (Gene and I) lost sight of our lessons and began to
be one "survival" mode. We made very little connection second
quarter. We were trying anything and everything to have some kind of
rigor in our own content area that we lost sight of our
team approach. Teaching a novel to half the class
and writing to the other half was not successful. This quarter was
very difficult. Students responded by wanting work that connected,
they wanted to read novels, they wanted to work in small writing
circles-I am not sure when I lost track of the writing, but it was
gone from the curriculum. The next quarter will be much more focus. .
. I hope
American Literature- Honors
Essential Questions:
What is the "American dream"? Who has access to and how do they achieve this "American Dream'7? How has the "American dream" evolved over time? Does this dream affect or help form our identity?
Novel:
The Great Gatsby
Play:
Death of a Salesman
Projects:
Dramatic Performance
Small questionnaire on the Dreams
Class quilt
Week 1:
Review semester I - revisit goals,
objectives and class norms
Week 2:
The Dark Side of Individualism - American Gothic
Poe, Hawthorne
Week 3:
Death of a Salesman
Week 4:
Death of a Salesman
Week 5:
Death of a Salesman - Dramatic Performance
Writing: Dramatic scene
Week 6:
Discussion on tragic hero and the
accessibility of the American Dream
Week 7:
The Great Gatsby
Week 8:
Discussion of inspiration - write about how and what you are inspired to do
The Great Gatsby
Begin Collection of poetry on dreams
and dreams lost
Week 9
The Great Gatsby
Questionnaire on American Dream
Week 10
Present poetry
Begin class quilt
FINAL
Go to the CD-ROM Table of Contents
© 1998 Mather High School