The Early Americans
Honors American Literature – Fall 2012
August
Wednesday 15
Introduction to class; collect summer reading projects; introduce American poetry/prose
HW: Read assigned poetry/prose selection
Thursday 16
American poetry/prose; introduce summer reading research project; assign summer books
HW: Writing assignment: What America Means to Me – due 8/17; bring selected
summer book to class – due 8/21
Friday 17
View American Dreamers; discuss the American Dream - past, present and future
Monday 20
Review permanent portfolios; discuss research project
HW: Writing assignment: Myself as a Reader and Writer – due 8/21
Tuesday 21
Summer book check; introduce MLA style, documentation and research
HW: Begin research
Wednesday 22
Documentation practice – electronic sources
HW: Continue research
Thursday 23
Library
HW: Continue research
Friday 24
Library
HW: Continue research
Monday 27
Library; discuss use of Post-it Notes
HW: Continue research; read John Steinbeck’s America and Americans (handout);
notate selection with Post-it Notes – due 8/28
Tuesday 28
Fishbowl discussion over America and Americans
HW: Finish research; bring source information for two sources to class – due 8/29
Wednesday 29
Computer lab; type works cited page
HW: Complete research packet – due 8/30; type final works cited page - due 8/30
Thursday 30
Collect research project and works cited page; discuss dominant American values;
introduce book review and podcast project
HW: Write book review rough draft - due 9/5
Friday 31
Introduce Native American poetry and prose (handout); September vocabulary
HW: Complete book review – due 8/5; complete sentences for September vocabulary –
due 9/4
Monday, September 3 – Labor Day – No School
Tuesday 4
Collect September vocabulary; introduce Native American poetry and prose; introduce
John Smith’s History of Virginia (handout)
HW: Read History of Virginia – due 9/6
Wednesday 5
Peer edit book review
HW: Finalize book review and works cited page – due 9/6
Thursday 6
Collect book review and works cited page; discuss John Smith; read Olaudah Equiano’s
Middle Passage (p. 83)
HW: Writing assignment: Early American point of view writing – due 9/7
Friday 7
Collect Early American point of view writing; introduce Nathanial Hawthorne, The
Scarlet Letter and Puritan poets
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 1 & 2
Monday 10
Discuss Puritan poets, Anne Bradstreet (pp. 95 & 194) and Edward Taylor (p. 101); New
England Primer; Massachusetts Bay Psalm Book (handout); and literary devices
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 3 & 4; writing assignment: write three couplets in the
style of the New England Primer that teach modern moral lessons – due 9/11
Tuesday 11
Discuss chapters 1-4 of The Scarlet Letter; collect Post-it Notes; collect couplets
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 5; practice reading book review aloud for podcasts –
due 9/12
Wednesday 12
Library; record book review podcasts
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 6 & 7
Thursday 13 (Early Release)
Library; record book review podcasts
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 8 & 9
Friday 14
Introduce the Great Awakening; read Jonathan Edwards’s Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God (p. 105)
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 10 & 11
Monday 17
Discuss chapters 5-11 of The Scarlet Letter; collect Post-it Notes
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 12
Tuesday 18
Introduce comparison and contrast assignment; work on C&C chart
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 13; complete comparison and contrast chart – due
9/19
Wednesday 19
Check C&C charts; write comparison and contrast draft
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 14; complete comparison and contrast rough draft –
due 9/24
Thursday 20
Introduce Salem witch trials; read court documents
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 15
Friday 21 – Parent-Teacher Conferences - No School
Monday 24
Collect comparison and contrast drafts; introduce Arthur Miller, Why I Wrote The
Crucible (p. 1095) and The Crucible (p. 1098)
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 16 & 17
Tuesday 25
View The Crucible
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 18 & 19
Wednesday 26
Continue viewing The Crucible
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 20
Thursday 27
Finish viewing The Crucible; discuss play; begin The Crucible writing
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 21; complete The Crucible writing – due 9/28
Friday 28
Collect The Crucible writing; discuss chapters 13-21 of The Scarlet Letter; collect Post-it
Notes
HW: Read The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 22
Monday 1
Writing lesson – commas; October vocabulary
HW: Finish reading The Scarlet Letter, Ch. 23 & 24; complete October vocabulary – due
10/3
Tuesday 2
Discuss chapters 22-24 of The Scarlet Letter and the novel’s themes; collect Post-It Notes
HW: Complete The Scarlet Letter writing – due 10/4
Wednesday 3
Collect October vocabulary; view Great Books: The Scarlet Letter; select Early
American paper to revise
HW: Revise Early American paper – rough draft due 10/9
Thursday 4
Collect The Scarlet Letter writing; finish Great Books; review for Early American test
HW: Prepare for Early American unit quote/essay test; revise Early American paper
Friday 5
Writing lesson - showing v. telling
HW: Prepare for quote/essay unit test; revise Early American paper
Monday 8
Early American essay test
HW: Revise Early American paper – second draft due 10/9
Tuesday 9
Peer edit Early American paper
HW: Complete final draft of Early American paper – due 10/11
Age of Reason
Honors American Literature – Fall 2012
October
Wednesday 10
Introduce the Age of Reason and Benjamin Franklin
HW: Read The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (p. 165) and Poor Richard’s
Almanack (p. 171)
Thursday 11
Collect Early American final draft; discuss Franklin and his writings
HW: Writing assignment: Choose one of Franklin’s aphorisms, and write a fable that
concludes with the aphorism as the moral of the story – due 10/12
Friday 12
Share Ben Franklin writings; discuss elements of persuasion and argumentation; read
excerpts from Thomas Paine’s The Crisis, No. 1 (p. 131)
HW: Finish reading The Crisis; complete The Crisis worksheet – due 10/15
Monday 15
Discuss elements of persuasion and argumentation; listen to Patrick Henry’s Speech to
the Virginia Convention (p. 121)
HW: Writing assignment: Write an argument in the style of Patrick Henry’s speech; use,
underline and label three different rhetorical devices in the speech – due 10/16
Tuesday 16
Collect Patrick Henry speeches; introduce Thomas Jefferson’s The Declaration of
Independence (p. 139); writing lesson - parallelism
HW: Complete parallelism worksheet
Wednesday 17
Read and discuss Malcolm X’s Necessary to Protect Ourselves (handout)
HW: Read Martin Luther King Jr.’s Stride Toward Freedom (handout)
Thursday 18 (Early Release)
Discuss Stride toward Freedom; view Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech
HW: Writing assignment: Do you agree with Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr.’s
philosophy for change? Explain their philosophies and your reason for selecting one over
the other; include a minimum of two direct quotes from their writings to support your
opinion – due 10/22
Friday 21 – COTA Day – No School
Monday 22
Collect MLK v. Malcolm X assignment; writing lesson - colons and semicolons