American Literature
Examing the foundations of our push for freedom. A full year English course for grades 10-12.
Very rarely in human history have a place and a people grown up together into a new culture. That is the American experience. Like the land and the people, so too the voice of this new civilization is distinctive, often raw, and always real. Remember, the men and women who founded the United States of America risked their lives to do so. What was it that made this thing called “independence” so valuable?
It is important to consider that what today we call “The Declaration of Independence” was called treason by England. If the Revolutionary War had failed, if the American farmers and planters had not been able to overthrow the largest military force in the world at that time, the Founding Fathers would surely have lost their lives at the hands of the British Government. That bold, independent streak that set the world aflame in 1776, echoes throughout American Literature.
From the earliest colonial voices, to the transcendental poets and essayists, to "THE" American literary form - the short story - and beyond, the literature of this newborn nation reflects the bold, independent push for liberty that birthed it. From Nathaniel Hawthorne, to Mark Twain, to Harper Lee - the authors of American Literature stare unblinkingly at their society, demanding we settle for nothing less than the best we can muster.
In this course we explore the unique voice of American Literature, with the hope that it will inspire both teachers and students to greater heights as well. Like the country from which it springs, American Literature tends to push envelopes, challenge traditions, and raise more questions than it answers. We will interact with the literature, wrestle with it, be inspired by it, and hopefully grow in our ability to analyze and appreciate the themes and ideas these pioneering authors present.
Cara Shelton
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Vocabulary Unit 1 - The Colonials
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A Literary Tool Chest Cover and TableofContents
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IHAVEWHOHASVocabCards
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WhyIWroteTheCrucible_ArthurMiller
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InClassWork_HesterCharacterization
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Birthmark_CloseReading
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Billy Budd Text
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A Fast & Furious Review of Slavery in the United States
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Study in Dialect for Huck Finn
Amer Lit Discussion 15.2
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GrammarGaffe_Week16
LiteraryToolchest_Alliteration
Vocab Magic Square_Unit5
Themes, Symbols & Background in "Huck Finn"
Amer Lit Discussion 16.2
HomeworkWk16
ReadingQuiz_HuckFinnPt2
Amer Lit Discussion 17.1
GrammarGaffe_Week17
LiteraryToolchest_AssonanceConsonance
DowntheMississippi
VocabCrissCrossPuzzle_Unit5
Amer Lit Discussion 17.2
HomeworkWk17
ReadingQuiz_HuckFinnPt3
Amer Lit Discussion 18.1
Conloquium Magnum, American Lit, Semester 2
GrammarGaffe_Week18
LiteraryToolchest_Lesson21Onomatopoeia
VocabularyMemoryGame_Unit5
InClassWork_TheWreckofRomanticism
Amer Lit Discussion 18.2
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ReadingPacket_Week18
ReadingQuiz_ShortStoriesRealists_Wk19
American Lit. Discussion 19.1
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American Lit Discussion 19.2
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American Lit Discussion 20.1
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BiographicShorts_InClassWork
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ReadingQuiz_SpoonRiverWk21
American Lit Discussion 21.1
Unit6Vocab_RRCRAmLit
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LiteraryToolchest_PointofView
American Lit Discussion 21.2
The Glass Menagerie, Text
HomeworkWk21
ReadingQuiz_GlassMenageriePt1
American Lit. Discussion 22.1
VocabSpiral_Unit6
LiteraryToolchest_Satire
InClassWork_Symbols
GrammarGaffe_Week22
American Lit. Discussion 22.2
HomeworkWk22
ReadingQuiz_GlassMenageriePt2
American Lit. Discussion 23.1
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IHAVEWHOHAS_VocabUnit6
LiteraryToolchest_Imagery
American Lit. Discussion 23.2
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Quarter 4 Teacher Guide and Key _2021
Grade Report, Quarter 4, American Lit Excel File
ReadingQuiz_GreatGatsbyPt1
Fast and Furious Intro to The Great Gatsby
AmericanLit_Discussion 24.1
VocabQuiz-Unit6
GrammarGaffe_Week24
LiteraryToolchest_Climax
Unit7Vocab_RRCRAmLit
HomeworkWk24
Discussion 24.2
ReadingQuiz_GreatGatsbyPt2
American Lit Discussion 25.1
GrammarGaffe_Week25
VocabUnit7_CrosswordPuzzle
LiteraryToolchest_HyperboleUnderstatement
American Lit Discussion 25.2
HomeworkWk25
ReadingPacket_Modernists
ReadingQuiz_ShortStories
AmerLit_Discussion_26.1
Socratic-SeminarStudentGuide
SocraticSeminarEvaluation
VocabUnit7_WordsearchPuzzle
LiteraryToolchest_RhetoricalQuestion
GrammarGaffe_Week26
Amer Lit Discussion 26.2
HomeworkWk26
ReadingQuiz_ThePearl
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Vocab Magic Square_Unit7
VocabQuiz-Unit7
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LiteraryToolchest_Oxymoron
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Unit8Vocab_RRCRAmLit
ReadingQuiz_TKAM_Pt1
Amer Lit Discussion 28.1
GrammarGaffe_Week28
LiteraryToolchest_CacophonyEuphony
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ReadingQuiz_TKAM_Pt2
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Amer Lit Discussion 30
GrammarGaffe_Week30
Semester 2 Exam