Homework: Points Are Awarded for Completion Or Accuracy

American Literature 1

Description:

American Literature I (LLD5) allows students to acquire content-based knowledge and skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking while studying a selection of American literature and informational text that is adapted and accessible to a wide variety of reading levels. Students trace the development of literature in America from pre-colonial times to the Civil War and examine the connections between events in U.S. history and the evolution of literary movements and ideas. Selected texts will include short stories, drama, novels, articles and poems from a variety of genre: biography, autobiography, folktales, mystery/suspense, realistic fiction, and informational text. Learning takes place in a small-group environment where individualized attention is provided commensurate with the different learning needs of each student. In addition to learning to write in response to literature, students will concentrate on authentic writing and communication tasks that prepare them for life and work in an increasingly complicated and ever-changing technological environment.

Grading system: Students are graded on a cumulative point system. At the end of each marking period, all student-earned points are added up and divided by the total number of points possible. This number will be the students final grade.

Homework: points are awarded for completion or accuracy.

Quizzes: 10-20 points

Tests: 20-30 points

Writing Assignments and Projects: 25-50 points

Participation: 2 points per period for F.O.C.U.S.

Students who have not done their homework can earn partial credit for writing it down when the class reviews homework in class. Late homework and assignments (not gone over in class) will be lowered by a letter grade.

Course Proficiencies:

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Native American Folktales and Myths

compare and contrast characters in two stories using a Venn diagram to analyze the representation of a subject (heroism) in two different stories
visualize and describe a character to analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
recognize the purpose of a story.
determine the theme or central idea of a text and provide a summary of the conclusion.
make cross-curricular connections to US History by studying the culture, tradtions and history Iroquois nations (the Five Nations, the Great Peace, people of the Longhouse) to analyze how a particular point of view or cultural experience is reflected in a work of literature.
brainstorm to identify the traits of a hero.
identify and describe the setting, main characters and conflict of a story on a story map to read and comprehend literature proficiently, with scaffolding as necessary.

Writings from and about Colonial America

read and comprehend a dramatization of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” for the purpose of performance for an audience.
describe a character’s traits
identify the motivations and conflicts between characters to analyze how characters interact with other characters and advance the plot.
determine the theme or central idea of a text and provide a summary of the conclusion.
make cross-curricular connections to US History by studying the culture, traditions and history Dutch colonials living in New York in the 1700’s to analyze how a particular point of view or cultural experience is reflected in a work of literature.
use their voices expressively to create and communicate characters for the purpose of entertaining a listening audience.
examine how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, and order events within it create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Part B

define critical vocabulary and key words (autobiography, point of view, non-fiction, author’s purpose, destiny, latitude, longitude, harpoon, knots, mammal, helm, thrashing, salvation, casks)
define and describe the elements of non-fiction and autobiographical essays to read and comprehend different types of literature with scaffolding as needed.
visualize and describe a chronological sequence of
identify imagery author uses to help the reader picture an event using graphic organizer (5-senses chart)
identify and explain the author’s purpose to determine the central idea of a text.

write an autobiographical account of a scary experience

Revolutionary Writers

define critical vocabulary and key words to understand a text.
paraphrase “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings.
identify the basic structural elements of a poem (verse, lines, rhyme and rhythm) to understand how a poet structures a text to make it memorable.
recognize the purpose of a poem, essay, or non-fiction text to determine the central idea of a text and summarize it.
differentiate between fiction and non-fiction texts to read and comprehend literature including stories, plays, poems proficiently.
read an adapted version of the Declaration of Independence written in plain English (New Millennium edition) to identify emotional language and logical argument to cite textual evidence to analyze a text.
Pre-write, draft and revise an opinion letter to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Romantic Writers and Gothic Horror

differentiate between first person and third person narration
compare similarities and differences between characters on a graphic organizer explain how characters can personify or represent ideas
visualize the setting of a story by illustrating a scene on paper by citing textual evidence (sensory detail) to understand how a writer uses language to evoke time and place.
describe the desires and conflicts that motivate characters
explain how a character’s vision of him or herself can be different than the vision others have of him
describe how a writer uses flashback to order events and manipulate time to create a certain effect such as tension, mystery, or surprise.
write an autobiography to personify a force of nature to develop imagined experiences or events using well-chosen details.
write a 2-3 paragraph analysis of a story’s character or theme using textual evidence to support claims

Slave Stories: Biographical Poems, Biographical Essays and Narratives

read to answer “wh” questions to comprehend the basic plot of a text.

visualize a character by examining their traits (what they say, what they do, what others say about them)
identify the basic structural elements of a poem (verse, lines, rhyme and rhythm)
recognize the purpose of a poem, essay, or non-fiction text to determine the central idea of a text.
differentiate between fiction and non-fiction
make cross-curricular connections to US History by relating biographies of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass the abolitionist movement to read and comprehend literature proficiently.

describe the conflict between two
explain how a conflict was resolved to summarize a text and its central idea
write a 1-2 paragraph essay in which you use information from one source to support the ideas found in another source to defend an argument that Harriet Tubman was a hero

Realistic and Regional Writers of the Civil War Period 39

differentiate between something that is real and something that is realistic to understand the figurative and connotative meanings of words as they are used in a text.
recognize the point of view from which a story is written
describe how a writer uses dialect to develop characters to show their age, intelligence and level of education.
identify techniques a writer uses to make a story sound realistic
identify the elements of an adventure story
use a map to chart a character’s journey
examine how the setting of an event can affect the outcome of an event to understand how a writer develops a theme or central idea.
write a chapter summary in their own words
write a speech to defend Huck’s decision to help Jim escape from slavery citing strong textual evidence from the story.