Welcome to
Honors
Description
Reading
Writing
Outcome
th
11
Grade
Myth and Reality
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This course has a reputation as rigorous,
demanding, fast-paced and generally hellish
At the same time, most students will agree
that somewhere amidst the carnage they
actually enjoy the course and that they learn
much.
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It is difficult
It is demanding
It is guided by a soul-less harpy
And it is oddly enjoyable (Really? Paradox already
Gerber)
Description
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At its most basic level 11 Honors is a Language
Arts course devoted to an in-depth study of
American Literature from the 16th century to the
Post-Modern period.
Selected works provide insight into the course
essential question: What is an American?
Additionally you will ponder supplementary
questions. Such as:
Supplementary Questions:
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What is the American Dream?
 Is the Dream valid or realistic? Is it relevant today?
 Is the Dream available to all Americans?
 What is the “price” for buying into the Dream?
What makes a work American?
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How do writers represent what it means to be American?
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What forces shape American identity?
 In what ways has American identity evolved?
 In what ways has it remained the same?
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How does historical context inform the narrative?
Class Description Basics, cont…
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And we will read AND DISCUSS a variety of works, in a
variety of literary genres and categories and by a variety
of American voices.
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These works include:
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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Into the Wild by Jon Krakeuer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Class Description Basics, cont…
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These American voices
include:
Benjamin Franklin
Sherman Alexie
Terry Bison
Thomas Jefferson
John and Abigail Adams
Washington Irving
Edgar Allan Poe
Jon Krakauer
William Faulkner
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
T.S. Eliot
J.D Salinger
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Tennessee Williams
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Frederick Douglass
Abraham Lincoln
Walt Whitman
Emily Dickenson
Kate Chopin
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Stephen Crane
W. E. B. Du Bois
Richard Wright
Ernest Hemingway
Robert Frost
Langston Hughes
Mark Twain
John Steinbeck
Class Description Basics, cont…
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This course engages students in the careful reading
and critical analysis of LITERATURE OF MERIT
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Denotation - .
Through the close reading of selected texts (both
fiction and nonfiction), students deepen their
understanding of the ways writers use language to
provide both meaning and pleasure for their
readers.
Students will consider a work’s structure, style, and
themes, as well as such elements as figurative
language, imagery, symbolism and tone (rhetoric).
The Work
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The course includes an intensive study of representative works
from various American genres and periods, concentrating on
works of “literary merit.”
We, in fact, move through the course chronologically as we chart
the establishment and evolution of the unique American voice.
The works in this course invite and reward rereading and do not,
like ephemeral works, (cough, cough The Notebook, A Walk to
Remember, Twilight ,cereal boxes, etc. fluff, fluff, fluff) yield all or
nearly all of their pleasures of thought and feeling the first time
through (in essence, works that keep giving, that provide new
thoughts, new experiences, and new realizations upon every
read)
As Henry David Thoreau noted, it is wisest to read the best
books first, and I agree. So we will accompany our reading with
thoughtful discussion and writing about the novels in the
company of your fellow students.
Reading
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If you are not a reader, run, with all due haste, to
your counselor and beg for the merciful transfer.
If you are still in your seat, note that YOU MUST BE
COMMITTED TO THE WORK – the focused,
reflective and considerate reading of the work.
A diet of Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, Shmoop and
various other “props” will not replace the reading
and will dramatically cripple your grade in the course
(Note: I read them as well).
Not only do we experience great stories, we learn
how to consume and digest them with the respect,
joy, and curiosity due them.
That out of the way…
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Students MUST read actively. Works require
careful, deliberative reading and abundant
ANNOTATION
Analyzing and interpreting the material involves
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Students in learning how to make careful observations of
textual detail
Students establishing connections among their observation
Students will draw from these connections a series
of inferences leading to an interpretive conclusion
and “the meaning”
Reading, cont…
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Students will read
deliberately and thoroughly,
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Taking time to understand a
work’s complexity
To absorb its richness of
meaning
To analyze how that
meaning is embodied in
literary form
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And in addition to
considering a work’s
artistry, students reflect on
the social and historical
values the work reflects and
embodies
Recall the old refrain
“History informs the
narrative”
Careful consideration of
both textual detail and
historical context provides a
foundation for interpretation.
Reading: A Generic Method
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When we read in this course, and hopefully for all
future academic purposes, our reading involves
three elements:
The experience of literature
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The interpretation of literature
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The subjective or personal dimension we feel when we
read
The analysis of a work through close reading to arrive at an
understanding of multiple meanings (rhetoric – the tool of
analysis)
The evaluation of literature
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An assessment and evaluation of the work in terms of its
artistic and social achievements.
Now About that Writing…
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Writing is an integral part of
any English class, but this
course refines the skill in terms
of:
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Fluency
Structure
Organization
Depth of the argument (thesis)
Writing assignments focus on
the critical analysis of literature
and include essays that are:
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Expository
Analytical
Argumentative
Dialectal Journals
And although critical analysis
makes up the bulk of the
course, well-constructed
creative writing assignments
help students see from the
inside how literature is written.
Such experiences sharpen your
understanding of what writers
have accomplished and
deepen your appreciation of
literary artistry.
Analytical and Creative Writing
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The goal of both types of writing assignments is to
increase your ability to explain clearly, cogently, even
elegantly what you understand about literary works and
why you interpret them as you do.
To that end, writing instruction includes attention to
developing and organizing ideas in clear, coherent, and
persuasive language.
It includes study of the elements of style.
And it attends to matters of precision and correctness as
necessary (grammar, spelling, punctuation, taboo, etc.)
COMMANDMENT 1: Know thy Taboo List
Long Range Objectives
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Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on helping
students develop stylistic maturity, which I
characterize as:
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A wide-ranging vocabulary used with denotative accuracy and
connotative resourcefulness (10 lists of 30 words Semester 1: 9 lists
Semester 2)
A variety of sentence structures
A logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques of
coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis.
A balance of generality with specific, illustrative detail, examples and
EVIDENCE
An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, maintaining a
consistent voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism and
antithesis
Literature is a Holistic Study
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The writing you will produce in this course
reinforces your reading (ah….yes, it all goes
together)
Thus reading and writing are taught together
to underscore both their common and
distinctive elements
Types of Writing
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Dialectical Journals - allows personal response to
the literature or the conditions of the narrative
Research – negotiate critical perspectives
Extended discourses – develop an argument or
present an analysis at length
Creative Writing – synthesize understandings of
the work under study.
Assessment – the bulk of our unit assessment
demands you write effectively under time constraints
specifically, a four-paragraph essay that responds to
a specific prompt (and you don’t know what that
prompt is or what it will focus on)
Ah… The Infamous In-Class Essay
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Units of study are finalized by the in-class essay. These
essays follow a specific form in that they:
 Are 40 minutes long (the writing portion)
 Are four paragraphs total
 Ask for an analysis of a work in which you are asked
to discuss how a particular literary elements or feature
contribute to meaning
 Or compare two authors, two points of views, or two
movements
 Or ask you to comment on the historical dynamics at
work in the piece.
 Are worth 60 points.
But More to the Point…
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I think of this course as AP Literature Light, meaning that
we will concentrate on the skills, tools, procedures,
practices, and general doings that will prepare you for
the next step in your academic evolution: AP Literature
This class is a workshop – think originally, challenge
yourself to move beyond traditional understandings.
By the time you get to Mrs. Stucken, you will be highly
prepared for the wonders she will unfold for you; you will
speak her language. And she in turn, will honor your
hard-won knowledge by treating you as a scholar – AP
Lit. will be the gift for your diligent effort in 11 Honors.
It will all make sense.
Structure of the Course
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The course follows a chronological timeline.
So even though we start at the post-Modern period with J.D.
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, we will return to the scene of the
crime so to speak, and ponder how the American identity came to
this point.
We will move from literary units, which entail:
The reading of an iconic American novel, to a historical unit or a
literary movement, which will include many voices:
The review of literary movements and the historical, social, cultural
elements that informed those movements. How did each reflect the
zeitgeist of the period and the developing American voice.
Each Unit…
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Will include
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Class reading
Class discussion
Group activity
Thesis development
Some Reader’s Response – these focus a particular feature of the work (say use
of mood, the portrayal of women, the motif of individualism)
Random quizzes to check for reading
Reading Packets – includes supplemental materials and background
Homework Packets – to support you in your comprehension and analysis as you
read. These are due the day of the unit test and must be submitted on that date
regardless of whether you are in attendance or not
Assessment – On the day of the exam, you will have a full period to
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answer a 40-50 question multiple choice quiz (10 minutes)
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an in-class essay in which you will choose one of two questions
Who Should Take 11 Honors?
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As a general rule, you are appropriate for the
course if you:
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READ
have been on the honors track from at least 10th
grade.
received a minimum of 86% in 10 Honors
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consider this class a priority
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Are willing to work hard and do your best to
improve.
Who Should NOT take the Course
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Not just as a general rule but a
general truth, you are misplaced in
this class if you:
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Complain
Make excuses
Place the grade above all else
Believe rules do not apply to you
Ask for and expect grade boosts
Are prone to plagiarism
Are here solely because your
friends are
Are here solely because you
believe it looks good on your
transcripts
Are passive and do not
participate
Are pathologically late or absent
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Are not willing to:
 Respect the work
 Challenge your beliefs
 Embrace ambiguity
 Persevere
 Read and follow instructions
 Follow habits of mind
 Ask questions
 Formulate your own
perspective
 Take academic risks
 Embrace failure
So the question to you….
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Are you ready to:
 Dedicate yourself to the work?
 Be challenged much and often?
 Embrace ambiguity?
 Think in new ways?
 Stay curious?
 Engage in the wonders of language?
 Make fun of your instructor?
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If you answered yes to all these questions, Welcome
to the glory that is 11 Honors.
So……..
Questions for me???????