English 11
American Literature
Instructor: Mrs. Devin Pullen
E-Mail: dpullen@burlington-nj.net
Website: dpullen.weebly.com
Room: A211
Remind #: [Hours]
Overview
Course Outline
This course exposes students to the American literary movements, in chronological
order and in historical context.
Unit 2: Puritanism
(October)
Expectations
All students enrolled in English 11 are expected to:





Arrive to each class on time and prepared to learn
Make an honest attempt at each and every assignment
Respect the opinions of others in the class
Follow all school and classroom rules
Utilize learning tools (teacher website, Remind) to increase success in the
course
Requirements


Unit 3: Enlightenment
(November)
Unit 4: Romanticism
(December)
Unit 5: Transcendentalism
(January)
Unit 6: Realism
(February)
Unit 7: Modernism
(March)
All students enrolled in English 11 will be required to:

Unit 1: Native American/Colonialism
(September)
Unit 8: Postmodernism
(April)
Develop and maintain a binder with all unit notes and unit writing
assignments
Complete at least one unit bulletin board as scheduled
Complete daily class work and homework assignments
Unit 9: Shakespeare Study
(May/June)
Evaluation
Materials
All students will be evaluated, both formally and informally, on a regular basis.
 Textbook: Prentice Hall Literature:
The American Experience
 Online Textbook:
www.pearsonsuccessnet.com
 Binder (white, 1”, clear cover)


Formal evaluations include, but are not limited to: tests, quizzes, formal
writing assignments, projects, binders
Informal evaluations include, but are not limited to: daily bellringer/closure activities, class discussion, Q&A, homework
Binder Portfolio
During each unit of study, students will be expected to compile all notes and
assignments into a colorful, well-designed portfolio entry. Each entry
 should
contain the following:
-Cover, printed on color paper
-An overview of the time period (characteristics, dates, influential
writers/prominent works)
-Three writing samples from the unit
(Argument, Explanatory, Narrative)

-Novel study, where applicable

-Bulletin Board design, where applicable
-Literature covered in the unit
American Literature
1
Unit 1- Native Americans and Colonialism
September 8 to October 2
Unit 1 Required Reading:
Unit 1 Required Writing:

“The Earth on Turtle’s Back”- Onondaga


“When Grizzlies Walked Upright”- Modoc
symbols, or character types that are similar in Native

from “The Navajo Origin Legend”- Navajo
American origin myths, drawing from evidence from all

from “The Iroquois Constitution”- Dekanawidah
three texts.

“Of Plymouth Plantation”- William Bradford

Explanatory Topic: Construct a comparison of patterns,
Argument Topic: Students will write a well-supported
argument defending their choices in their constitutions

Narrative Topic: Write a personal narrative reflecting
upon your experiences as an (imagined) early explorer
visiting America.
Unit 2- Puritanism
October 5 to October 30
Unit 2 Required Reading:

“To My Dear and Loving Husband”- Anne Bradstreet

“Huswifery”- Edward Taylor

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”- Jonathan
Edwards
Unit 2 Required Writing:

Explanatory Topic: Students will write a reflective essay

be 3 minutes in length.
Unit 2 Required Viewing/Listening:

Movie speech:

FDR’s Pearl Harbor speech

Churchill’s “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat” speech

Governor Christie pre-and post-Sandy press
conferences
describing the procedure of a common household chore and

explore how that task suggests a larger, or metaphoric,

Mayor Bloomberg’s pre-Sandy press conference
meaning.

SNL spoof
Argument Topic: Students will write an evaluation of

Princess Diana’s Eulogy
the persuasive techniques that Edwards uses in her sermon.

Sally Field’s acceptance speech at the GLAAD
Discuss the response he evokes in an audience and the ways
he achieves it.

Informational: Students will write a personal speech to
Awards

Narrative Topic: Write a response to Bradstreet’s poem
from her husband, maintaining the characteristics of
Puritan Plain Style as they write.
American Literature
J.K. Rowling’s Commencement Address at Harvard
University

William McRaven’s Commencement Address at
University of Texas
2
Unit 3- Enlightenment
November 2 to November 24

Unit 3 Required Reading:

(Novel Study) The Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass- Frederick Douglass
from What to the Slave Is the Fourth of JulyFrederick Douglass
Unit 3 Required Writing:

Speech in the Virginia Convention- Patrick Henry

Speech in the Convention- Benjamin Franklin

The Declaration of Independence- Thomas Jefferson

from The American Crisis- Thomas Paine

“To His Excellency, General Washington”- Phillis
Wheatley

response comparing and contrasting their views about
when to compromise and when to stand firm, using
evidence from both Henry and Franklin’s Convention
speeches.


from The Autobiography- Benjamin Franklin

from Poor Richard’s Almanack- Benjamin Franklin

from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Explanatory Topic: Students will write a constructed
Argument Topic: Students will consider a problem
facing our school or community and write an editorial to
appear in a local newspaper in which they explain why the
situation needs attention and how it should be corrected.
Olaudah Equiano- Olaudah Equiano

Narrative Topic: Students will maintain a journal for 3

Letter from the President’s House- John Adams
days to document their efforts to attain their self-directed

Letter to Her Daughter From the New White
goals, as illustrated in Franklin’s Biography
House- Abigail Adams
Unit 4- Romanticism
November 30 to December 22
Unit 4 Required Reading:
Unit 4 Required Writing:

“The Devil and Tom Walker”- Washington Irving


“The Minister’s Black Veil”- Nathaniel Hawthorne
from the poetry that evoke distinct moods in the reader.

“The Fall of the House of Usher”- Edgar Allan Poe
Write a compare and contrast essay in which you describe

“Hop Frog”- Edgar Allan Poe
the mood evoked by each passage and discuss the stylistic

“The Tell-Tale Heart”- Edgar Allan Poe
devices the poet uses to create those moods. Support

Varied Poetry-
comparisons with details from the passages.

(Novel Study) The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Explanatory Topic: Students will choose two passages
Argument Topic: Students will write well-supported
arguments in support of or in opposition to Oates as a
gothic writer. Students will use evidence from the works of
both Poe and Oates to support claims.

Narrative Topic: Students will create their own original
Faust legend as illustrated in Irving’s story.
American Literature
1
Unit 5- Transcendentalism
January 4 to January 29
Unit 5 Required Reading:
Unit 5 Required Writing:

from “Nature”- Ralph Waldo Emerson


from “Self-Reliance”- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reliance” including a summary of Emerson’s points, an

from “Walden”- Henry David Thoreau
assessment of his uses of stylistic devices, such as imagery

from “Civil Disobedience”- Henry David Thoreau
and figurative language, and a statement of opinion.

Assorted Poetry- Emily Dickinson

Assorted Poetry- Walt Whitman
for or against the relevance of Thoreau’s ideas of simplicity

(Novel Study) On the Road- Jack Kerouac
in today’s world. Refer to Walden and “Civil

Explanatory Topic: Write a critical evaluation of “Self-
Argument Topic: Write an editorial in which you argue
Disobedience” to support your ideas.

Narrative Topic: Students will maintain a personal
journal as they explore transcendentalism on a personal
level.
Unit 6- Realism
February 1 to March 4
Unit 6 Required Reading:

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”- Ambrose
Unit 6 Required Writing:

Explanatory Topic: Write a compare-and-contrast essay
Bierce
in which you describe Lincoln and Lee’s understanding of

“The Gettysburg Address”- Abraham Lincoln
the relationship between the Civil War strife of their own

“Letter to His Son”- Robert E. Lee
generation and the ideas on which the US was founded.

“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras

Argument Topic: Students will write an argument
County”- Mark Twain
either supporting or opposing the effectiveness of Twain’s

“The Story of an Hour”- Kate Chopin
application of techniques used to write a humorous story

“The Yellow Wallpaper”- Charlotte Gilman
after reading “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras

(Novel Study) The Awakening- Kate Chopin
County.”

Narrative Topic: Students will write their own “story of
an hour” about a moment when their life dramatically
changed.
American Literature
1
Unit 7- Modernism
March 7 to April 1
Unit 7 Required Reading:
Unit 7 Required Writing:

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”- T.S. Eliot


Assorted Poetry- Ezra Pound, William Carlos
response exploring the vision of the American Dream as
Williams
Dexter experiences it in “Winter Dreams.”

Explanatory Topic: Students will construct well-written

“Winter Dreams”- F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The Turtle”- John Steinbeck
presenting and defending their own analysis of J. Alfred

“A Rose for Emily”- William Faulkner
Prufrock.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”- Katherine Anne

Argument Topic: Students will write an argument
Narrative Topic: Students will choose a character from
Porter
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and write a

Assorted Poetry- Robert Frost
monologue in which they use stream of consciousness to

(Novel Study) The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
portray the character’s thoughts.
Unit 8- Postmodernism
April 4 to April 29
Unit 8 Required Reading:
Unit 8 Required Writing:

“Inaugural Address”- John F. Kennedy

from “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”- Martin
comparison between Kennedy’s address and MLK’s letter,
Luther King, Jr.
drawing similarities between values, themes, and
“The Crucible”- Arthur Miller
philosophies.



Explanatory Topic: Students will construct a
Argument Topic: Students will assume the persona of a
character in The Crucible and write a persuasive letter
urging another character to take a particular course of
action.

Narrative Topic: Students will write a narrative
describing a similar hysteria to that of the Salem Witch
Trials in a fictionalized tale.
American Literature
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Unit 9- Shakespeare Study
May 9 to June 3
Unit 9 Required Reading:

“Othello”- William Shakespeare

Assorted articles- New York Times
Unit 9 Required Writing:

Explanatory Topic: Students will explain how the
character Othello is classified as an outsider throughout the
text, using evidence to support claims.

Argument Topic: Students will write arguments either
supporting or opposing Iago as the ultimate villain in the
play.

Narrative Topic: Students will write a one-act play in
small groups, incorporating key themes or conflicts from
Othello.
American Literature
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