American Literature
(semester schedule)
Asotin High School
Grades: 11, 12
Unit and
Month(s)
Essential
Questions
Content
Early American (1780-1860)
August-late September

What was the subject
matter?
 What was the writing
style of the time?
 How does their literature
compare to our life and
current literature?
 Who are some of the
famous writers of this
time?
 What does “theme”
mean?
Washington Irving
 The Devil and Tom
Walker (book)
 The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow, on occasion
(copy)
 Rip Van Winkle (copy)
Edgar Allan Poe
 The Black Cat (copy)
 The Cask of Amontillado
(copy)
 The Pit and the
Pendulum (copy)
GLEs covered
Reading
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4
3.1, 3.2, 3.4
4.1, 4.2
Writing
1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
1.4, 1.5, 1.6
2.1, 2.2, 2.3
3.1, 3.2, 3.3
4.1 , 4.2
Realism: Civil War Era to
Modern (1861-1900)
Late September-mid October
 What was the subject
matter?
 How did writing evolve
from the previous era?
 How does war affect
human outlook?—
compare to our time
 Who are some of the
famous writers of this
era?
Ambrose Bierce
 An Occurrence at Owl
Creek Bridge (book)
 A Horseman in the Sky
(copy)
A.B. Guthrie, Jr
 Bargain (copy)
Bret Harte
 The Outcasts of Poker
Flat (book)
Mark Twain
 The Notorious Jumping
Frog of Calaveras
County (copy)
Reading
Writing
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
1.4, 1.5, 1.6
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
3.1, 3.2, 3.4
3.1, 3.2, 3.3
4.1, 4.2
4.1 , 4.2
Summative
Assessments
Activities
Technology
Needed
Miscellaneous





Reaching Out Project
Style/Theme paper
Quiz over each story
Book Jacket
Notes over pre-Colonial,
Colonial, and Early
American
 Aforementioned stories
 WASL-type questions
over each story
 Reaching Out Project
 Story Quizzes
 Class discussions
 Poe—ghost stories
 Link to pop culture: CSI
episode
 Essays
 Computers—for essays
 DVD player and TV—
for pop culture reference
Poe ghost stories: stories are
compared to present day ghost
stories. Students pretend to sit
around a campfire with the
instructor and tell each other
ghost stories, like the oral
tradition of many tales.
Link to pop culture: Poe stories
tapped into the fears of the time.
A recent episode of CSI echoes
this fear of being buried alive.





Compare and contrast
essay
Quizzes
Story Drawing
Notes over Realism
Aforementioned stories
WASL-type questions
over each story
Story Quizzes
Realism Drawing
Essay
Class discussions

Computers—for essays





American Literature, continued
Unit/Month(s)
Essential
Questions
Content
Modern (1900-1950)

Why did writing change
greatly during this time
period?
 Who are the major
writers of this time?
 What themes emerged
during the world wars?
 How is Hemingway’s
style effective?
Ernest Hemingway
 Hills Like White
Elephants (copy)
 Big Two-Hearted River
(book)
 Soldier’s Home (copy)
 The Killers (copy)
 A Very Short Story
(copy)
 In Love and War (video)
Contemporary (1950-present)



How has writing
changed since the early
writings of W. Irving?
What themes emerge in
our time?
Who are the major
writers of our era?
Shirley Jackson
 The Lottery (copy)
Eudora Welty
 A Worn Path (book)
John Steinbeck

F. Scott Fitzgerald
 The Great Gatsby (novel)
GLEs covered
Summative
Assessments
Thornton Wilder
 Our Town (book)
Reading
Writing
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
1.4, 1.5, 1.6
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
3.1, 3.2, 3.4
3.1, 3.2, 3.3
4.1, 4.2
4.1 , 4.2
 Hemingway essay
 Gatsby portfolio
 Our Town test
 Quizzes over each story
Reading
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4
Writing
1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
1.4, 1.5, 1.6
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
3.1, 3.2, 3.4
3.1, 3.2, 3.3
4.1, 4.2
4.1 , 4.2
 Quizzes over each story
 Essay revision--final
Activities
Technology
Needed
Miscellaneous





Notes on Hemingway
Hemingway video
WASL-type questions
Aforementioned stories
Our Town inspired time
capsule as a class
 Time capsule sheet,
individually
 Gatsby lit circles
 In Love and War movie
 Compare and contrast or
thematic essay
 Group test over the novel
 Individual test over the
play
 Class discussions
 Computers
 DVD/TV player
Lit circles: The lit circles work
best when the teacher creates the
groups. This way, there is some
balance between the groups. In
some cases, I have put the
students who do not do their
work in one group. They have to
sink or swim as a unit. The jobs
are the following: discussion
director, summarizer, secretary,
and possibly artist.



Aforementioned stories
WASL-type questions
on each story
Revision of a previous
essay, as a final
Discussions on theme,
style, characterization,
change in literature from
beginning to present,
etc.


Computers
