Farmington Public Schools
Curriculum Map
Course: American Literature Honors
Department: English
Course Purpose:
Throughout this honors course, students will study and explore what it means to be
American by analyzing and evaluating how American literature portrays the American
identity, the tensions between the individual and American society and perspectives on the
American dream. Students will use authentic historic documents, fiction and non-fiction
literature, poetry, music, radio and television broadcasts, internet sources, and each other as
resources to explore American cultural perspectives. Students will recognize, appreciate and
use the nuances of language to communicate meaning and enhance impact. Students will
also develop interpretations, make meaningful connections and analyze elements of author’s
craft.
Major Learning Goals and Understandings:
With each unit students will articulate, in speaking and writing, their interpretation of what it
means to be American. Students will be able to distinguish between each author’s purpose
by analyzing the literary craft in each work and how it enhances meaning. Examining and
composing a variety of writing genres, including: narrative, expository, rhetorical and
creative, students will develop their own interpretation of what it means to be American.
This course will build on skills from 200H and prepare students for the Farmington Literacy
Performance Assessment and the SAT.
Units
The American Identity
Poetic and Musical Perspectives on America
American Rhetorical Tradition/Persuasion
Presidential Election Commercials
Individual vs. American Society
Written and Pictorial Satire
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Harlem
Renaissance
Authors: Audra Mika and Russ Crist
Date: June 27, 2008
MIDTERM EXAM – Farmington Literacy
Performance Assessment
The American Dream
Film: It’s A Wonderful Life or Family Man
The Great Gatsby
Death of a Salesman
A Raisin in the Sun
“Independence” Reading
Choose among 4-5 titles that are teacher selected
FINAL EXAM
Unit 1: The American Identity
Grade: 11
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Subject: English
Course: American Lit. Honors
Length of Unit: 5 weeks
Essential Questions
How does American literature help us to understand what it means to be American and to create an American
identity?
How do writers and speakers persuade their audiences?
Stage I - Standards
Primary EU’s and
Content Standards
 2.2 Students will use strategies
to expand meaning beyond the
text.
Develop interpretations and make
meaningful connections.
 2.3 Students will use strategies
to think critically about text.
Analyze and critique elements of
author’s craft.
Evaluate text.
Key Content Knowledge and Concepts/Skills
The students will know:
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 3.1 Students will use recursive
processes to compose text.
Actively participate in a responsive
literate community by soliciting
feedback and offering critique.
 3.2 Students will apply the traits
of writing to analyze and
compose text.
Compose rhetorical and expository
texts that are focused, organized,
elaborated and fluent.
Assess the effectiveness of writing
by analyzing traits.
 3.3 Students will study the craft
of writing to effectively compose
text in a variety of genre.
 TECHNOLOGY 2.0
Technology can be used to
create written, visual, and
multimedia products to
communicate ideas, information
or conclusions to others.
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The variety of sources (text,
media, etc.) available to them.
How to write and support an
arguable thesis.
The advantages of multimedia
tools to convey a message.
Various ways to interpret mood,
tone and main ideas of poems and
songs.
Definitions and uses of rhetorical
appeals and strategies
Print, visual and graphic methods
of communication.
The students will be able to:
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Define what it means to be
American and their American
identity.
Analyze, interpret and explain the
significance of the texts’ main
idea, theme or stance.
Draft a poem or song that
explores a range of poetic forms
to communicate a message or
feeling.
Demonstrate effective use of
poetic language and structure to
enhance meaning.
Recognize and critique authors’
use of rhetorical/persuasive
devices (logical/emotional/ethical
appeals) in written and visual
text.
Identify and explain author’s use
of text features: print, visual and
graphic.
Create a sketch for a campaign
commercial advertising
themselves as a presidential
candidate.
Critique themselves and their
classmates during campaign
commercial presentations.
Give and receive constructive
criticism.
Articulate a rhetorical message
about America in a multimedia
format.
Extract and organize relevant
information from a variety of
source formats.
Synthesize information to answer
a question or support a thesis
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position (equipping them for
Farmington Literacy Performance
Assessment)
Use multimedia tools to create
clear and meaningful presentation
of ideas.
Stage II – Common Assessments
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Write a poem or song that reflects your thoughts on what it means to be American or your own American
identity- must demonstrate some effective use of poetic language and structure to enhance meaning. (EU 3.1,
3.2 and 3.3)
Students will analyze Obama’s (Race Speech in Philadelphia, spring ’08) use of rhetorical strategies and how
his speech connects to language and rhetorical strategies in Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, I
Have a Dream. (EU 3.2 and 3.3)
Create a PowerPoint Template of a campaign commercial promoting the student as a presidential candidate.
Have a clear message for America that effectively utilizes the three appeals and concession/refutation. Must
include images, music and text. Commercials will be assessed by student and peers and posted online (teacher
blog/website for viewing and discussion). (EU 2.0, 2.2 and 2.3)
Assessments to be created by the team.
Stage III– Core/Assured Learning Experiences
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Students share images, song, commercial or poem, etc. and explain both the image of the American dream
expressed and how the artist creates it.
Students create an original American slogan on individual bumper stickers to synthesize their viewpoints on
the American dream.
Students will take the Immigration and Naturalization Services test, evaluate their results, and in pairs, create a
new test that accurately displays their view on what it means to be American. Review/reassess at the end of
the year.
Election 2008- Campaign Commercials: Students will compare and contrast candidates’ hopes for America/
how they are conveyed by analyzing rhetorical devices
American Rhetorical Tradition- Review articles/speeches evaluating the creativity of the three appeals (logical,
ethical, emotional) and concession/refutation (Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, I Have a
Dream.)
Unit 2: Individual vs. American Society
Grade: 11
Subject: English
Course: American Lit. H
Length of Unit: 14 weeks
Essential Questions
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How does American literature reflect American values?
How does American literature reflect the tensions between the individual and society?
 How does American literature portray an American hero?
Stage I - Standards
Primary EU’s and
Content Standards

2.2 Students will use strategies
to expand meaning beyond the
text.
Develop interpretations and make
meaningful connections.
Participate in discussion to expand
thinking.
 2.3 Students will use strategies
to think critically about text.
Analyze and critique elements of
author’s craft.
Evaluate text.
 3.2 Students will apply the traits
of writing to analyze and
compose text.
Compose rhetorical and expository
texts that are focused, organized,
elaborated and fluent.
Assess the effectiveness of writing
by analyzing traits.
The students will know:
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 3.3 Students will study the craft
of writing to effectively compose
text in a variety of genre.
Study and compose well-crafted
expository and creative writing.
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TECHOLOGY 2.0 Technology
can be used to create written,
visual, and multimedia products to
communicate ideas, information
or conclusions to others.
 Understand principles of library
organization and information
systems to locate resources in a
variety of source formats
appropriate to their information
need.
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The definition of satire,
situational/dramatic/verbal irony
Visual techniques used to create
pictorial satire, including
caricature, exaggeration,
juxtaposition of incongruous
images, etc.
Reading strategies, including
questioning, inferring, making
predictions, figuring out what is
important, drawing on prior
knowledge and making
connections
Literary elements, including
metaphor, simile and conceit
Background on minstrel, slavery
and race relations in 1876, as well
as the 1920s Harlem Renaissance
and 1930s Southern America
Differences in regional dialects
Relevant information from
authors’ biographies
Acceptable use guidelines in
accessing information
How to give complete
bibliographic credit to original
sources of information using
MLA format.
The students will be able to:
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Identify the target of written and
visual satire and analyze how
satirists achieve their purposes.
Utilize reading strategies to make
meaning from texts.
Develop ideas for and create
original written and pictorial
satires.
Recognize an author’s intent and
bias in texts.
Articulate the complexity and
tensions of each character and his
or her society
Develop a strong thesis and
present supporting ideas in a
logical order. Support with
logical reasoning and strong
evidence
Demonstrate the ability to extract
and organize relevant information
from a variety of source formats.
Synthesize information to answer
a question or support a thesis
position
Recognize and critique author’s
use of imagery, dialogue and
figurative language.
Recognize and critique author’s
use of language to create mood,
tone or feeling in the reader
Write an engaging, welldeveloped narrative that
effectively communicates setting,
character, plot and theme.
Effectively use imagery, dialogue
and figurative language in writing
to create mood and tone.
Stage II – Common Assessments
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Write and design a satirical political cartoon using at least two of the visual techniques. (EU 3.2 and 3.3)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Students will research and use literary criticism to develop an arguable
thesis on an interpretation of the novel (focused on one of the Essential Questions for the unit) in research paper
that is focused, organized, elaborated and fluent. (EU 2.2, 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3)
Their Eyes Were Watching God- Students will create and express a conceit that captures Janie’s growth
throughout her journey in the novel. The conceit can be expressed in any form- video, art, song, poem,
movement, puppet show, etc.- the metaphor must be clear and reflect Janie’s growth. With the metaphor,
students will submit a full-page, typed explanation explaining how the conceit effectively expresses the
interpretation of Janie’s journey. The typed explanation must include five quotes that specifically trace her
journey.
Stage III– Core/Assured Learning Experiences
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Satire Guiding Questions:
What is satire and what is its purpose?
How can you use humor and sarcasm to criticize aspects of society that you don’t like?
Define and identify satire, verbal/situational/dramatic irony and visual techniques used to create satirical
cartoons (exaggeration, caricature, juxtaposition of incongruous images, etc.)
Read and evaluate a written satire, identifying the main point, techniques used, degree of seriousness or
lightness and effectiveness of the piece based on rubric.
Write an original, effective satirical piece that incorporates satire techniques and a degree of seriousness or
lightness.
American Tongues video and worksheet
Activate prior knowledge and provide information about time periods (1850’s and 1860’s American south)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Guiding Questions:
How does Twain use satire in the novel to comment on American Society?
Does Huck change over the course of the novel and if so, how?
How is Jim’s character portrayed?
Why all the fuss? Does the novel merit the acclaim and controversy it has received?
Should every American read the novel before graduating from high school?
Analyze passages in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Their Eyes Were Watching God that illustrate the
tensions between individuals and society and the qualities of American life that are valued in society.
Students will explore character development, deepen their understanding of themes and make connections
between Huck and society (or themselves) in their journals as they read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Reading for understanding quizzes- students will use the Essential Questions to analyze important passages
Students will defend or refute the teaching of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a debate, drawing from
the material in their journals and the literary merits of the novel.
Students will research and examine authentic literary criticism with two opposing viewpoints and identify the
validity in each piece. Students will then use the library to research various databases to find additional literary
criticism that will support a thesis.
Activate prior knowledge for Eyes (1920’s, Florida geography, Harlem Renaissance).
Their Eyes Were Watching God Guiding Questions:
How does Janie reflect American values?
What tensions exist between Janie and society?
Is Janie a hero?
Examine writer’s craft by translating dialect from the novels into standard English and/or translating a
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conversation from the novel into a text-message conversation between the characters.
Metaphor Activity- Teacher will put three items in an envelope for each group of 4-5 students. Students will
look over the items and determine their qualities before connecting each item to a different character from the
novel. Students must find two quotes to support each of the three connections. To be shared with class.
Explore passages that illustrate verbal/situational/dramatic irony, symbolism, and theme.
Analyze authentic literary criticism, effective thesis statements and evidence.
Analyze effective structure of an essay.
Unit 3: The American Dream
Grade: 11
Subject: English
Course: American Lit. Honors
Length of Unit: 12 weeks
Essential Questions
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What is the “American Dream” and how is it reflected in literature?
Is there a dominant vision of the American Dream, and if so, to what extent does it affect the decisions
individuals make both in literature and in life?
 How do the artistic/literary choices authors’ make affect meaning in a text?
Stage I - Standards
Primary EU’s and
Content Standards

2.2 Students will use strategies
to expand meaning beyond text.
Develop interpretations.
Develop and use meaningful
connections. Participate in
discussion to expand thinking.
Key Content Knowledge and Concepts/Skills
The students will know:


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3.3 Students will study the craft
of writing to effectively compose
text in a variety of genre.
Study and compose well-crafted
narrative and creative writing.
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TECHNOLOGY 2.0
Technology can be used to
create written, visual, and
multimedia products to
communicate ideas, information
or conclusions to others.
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The difference between flat and
round characters.
Definition of theme vs. thematic
topic.
The definition of symbolism and
how it impacts the meaning in a
text.
The purposes of narrative and
creative writing.
Their personal conceptions of the
American Dream as well as other
interpretations of the dream.
Stages of plot development by
analyzing internal and external
conflicts and their resolution.
Indirect and direct methods of
characterization.
Imagery and rich figurative
language.
The concept of “Platonic
Conception” and incarnation in
The Great Gatsby.
Elements of drama (play).
Elements of a eulogy.
The students will be able to:
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Develop inferences about
character, motivation and
character change.
Analyze, interpret and explain the
significance of the text’s main
idea, theme or stance as well as
symbols.
Generalize enduring themes to
contemporary life and times.
Analyze and evaluate text, self
and world connections to deepen
understanding of narrative and
creative texts.
Actively participate in a
responsive literary community by
asking questions, proposing
theories and debating ideas with
others.
Write an engaging, welldeveloped narrative that
effectively communicates setting,
character, plot and theme.
Effectively use imagery, dialogue
and figurative language in
writing.
Effectively use language to create
mood and tone in writing.
Extract and organize relevant
information from a variety of
source formats.
Synthesize information to answer
a question or support a thesis
position.
Use multimedia tools to create
clear and meaningful presentation
of ideas.
Stage II – Common Assessments
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The Great Gatsby: Students will write a critical/analytical essay that with an arguable thesis and sufficient text
evidence that answers one of the Essential Questions for the unit. (EU 3.3 )
The Death of a Salesman/ A Raisin in the Sun: One Act Play- Students will write an engaging, well-developed
narrative that uses one character and quotes from each of the three texts from the unit. The play must
effectively communicate setting, character, plot and theme and effectively uses imagery, dialogue and figurative
language to create mood and tone. (EU 2.2 and 3.3)
Or
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Write a short story that reflects a thematic topic from the novel or plays, including the “American Dream”. The
story must be a well-developed narrative that effectively communicates setting, character, plot and theme; use
imagery, dialogue/dialect and figurative language to create mood and tone in writing. (EU 2.2 and 3.3)
Stage III– Core/Assured Learning Experiences
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The Great Gatsby Guiding Questions:
Why do different characters in the novel have different perspectives on the “American Dream”?
What is more important, love or money?
How do Dan Cody and Daisy help Gatsby “incarnate” his “platonic conception”?
How do Fitzgerald’s literary choices enrich meaning for the reader?
20th High School Reunion: Students role play and portray their ideal vision of where they will be in 20 years.
Reading for understanding quizzes for all texts- students will use the Essential Questions to analyze important
passages.
Choose a character from The Great Gatsby and create a Facebook profile for him/her that clearly articulates
your understanding of the characters’ interpretation of the American Dream. Use important quotes and symbols
from the novel to support the interpretation.
Death of a Salesman Guiding Questions:
What does it mean to be “successful” and what forces in society contribute to your understanding?
Which characters in this play change? Who do you think is admirable or not? Why?
What dramatic/artistic decisions did Miller make in creating this play and what effect do those decisions have?
Write your own epithet/eulogy that reflects how your interpretation of the “American Dream” defends or refutes
the dominant vision.
A Raisin in the Sun Guiding Questions:
What is the vision of the “American Dream” for each member of the family and how does this create conflict in
the play?
Does Walter change in the play and, if so, how?
What dramatic/artistic decisions did Hansberry make in creating this play and what effect do those decisions
have?
Fishbowl discussion of quotes, characters, conflicts, symbols and themes of all three works, focusing on the
characters’ and the authors’ interpretations of the American dream.
Unit 4: “Independence” Reading- Contemporary America
Grade: 11
Subject: English
Course: American Lit. H
Length of Unit: 5 weeks
Essential Questions
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How does American literature help us to understand what it means to be American?
How does American literature reflect the tensions between the individual and society?
What is the American Dream and how is it reflected in literature?
 How do the artistic/literary choices author’s make affect meaning in a text?
Stage I - Standards
Primary EU’s and
Content Standards
 2.2 Students will use strategies
to expand meaning beyond text.
Develop interpretations.
Develop and use meaningful
connections. Participate in
discussion to expand thinking.
 2.3 Students will use strategies
to think critically about text.
Analyze and critique elements of
author’s craft.
Evaluate text.
 3.2 Students will apply the traits
of writing to analyze and
compose text.
Compose expository texts that are
focused, organized, elaborated and
fluent.
 3.3 Students will study the craft
of writing to effectively compose
text in a variety of genre.
Study and compose well-crafted
expository writing.
Key Content Knowledge and Concepts/Skills
The students will know:
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How to recognize author’s use
characterization, both indirect and
direct.
How to articulate and defend a
text’s main idea and themes.
How to effectively complete a
close reading of important text
passages to deepen
understanding.
How to effectively communicate
with peers and build off of each
other’s comments.
Identify a working, arguable
thesis and find adequate
supporting text evidence.
How to summarize and
synthesize information from a
variety of sources and apply to a
new format.
The students will be able to:
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Develop inferences about
character, motivation and
character change.
Analyze, interpret and explain the
significance of the text’s main
idea, theme or stance as well as
symbols.
Generalize enduring themes to
contemporary life and times.
Analyze and evaluate text, self
and world connections to deepen
understanding of narrative and
creative texts.
Actively participate in a
responsive literary community by
asking questions, proposing
theories and debating ideas with
others.
Develop a strong thesis and
present supporting ideas in a
logical order.
Support a thesis with logical
reasoning and strong evidence.
Demonstrate the ability to extract
and organize relevant information
from a variety of source formats.
Synthesize information to answer
a question or support a thesis
position.
Stage II – Common Assessments
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Students will synthesize their knowledge of the texts using one of the Essential Questions for the unit to
compare/contrast their “Independence” Reading novel with another text read in class this year. The focused,
organized, elaborated and fluent expository essay must develop an interpretation of the novels/plays, contain an
arguable thesis and use specific textual evidence from both texts as support. (EU 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3)
Stage III– Core/Assured Learning Experiences
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Guiding Questions for each text to be determined by individual teachers depending upon book selection.
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Reflection Journals- Students will make regular journal entries focused on the Essential Questions and close
passage analysis to prepare for literary circle discussions and expository writing.
Literary circles- Students will be grouped together by novel and follow a structured discussion model that is
focused on the Essential Questions for the unit as well as specific textual passages.
Reading for understanding quizzes- students will use the Essential Questions to analyze important passages.
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* End-of-year cumulative project to be determined by the team. Project will assess the
students’ ability to synthesize various sources into a coherent statement answering the
overarching Essential Questions. Teachers to determine project.
* Use My Access to give students more experience writing SAT Prompts with immediate
feedback.